A CEO of a cargo bike courier company has banned his employees from wearing helmets. It’s a controversial take but he claims cycling helmets increase risk when on the bike.
Why you shouldn’t wear cycling helmets
Controversially, Ben (CEO of a cargo bike courier company) claims cycling helmets increase risk when on the bike. We decided to delve deeper into his reasoning.
The common knowledge is that should you have a crash you are better off wearing a bike helmet than not. “When looking into population level data for multiple countries it became clear. “There is a clear correlation between the number of people that wear helmets and the risk per mile.” Furthermore, he argues when promoting programmes or making helmet wearing mandatory you see injury and death rates per mile increase and cycling levels decrease.
Also, the factor of risk compensation plays a big part in Bens’s case, claiming that people tend to act on caution when they are not wearing a helmet.
“That feeling of nakedness helps people to manage risk before the point of collision”
– CEO Ben
It’s also been put to the community that the need to wear a helmet can help to discourage cycling making it look far more dangerous than it is. Ben states that the knock-on effects of this can be damaging. With fewer people cycling, this forces more people to drive which creates a lack of empathy. Leading to people knowing fewer individuals that take part, thus creating a stigma around the danger of the sport.
Conclusion
Ben does however apply his risk compensation logic to different scenarios. When racing he understands that accepting more risk by keeping in touch with the group should mitigate that. “Using a helmet makes complete sense”.
Ben states that it’s a case by case scenario, but there are external factors that contribute more to the overall welfare of you as a rider. Things such as investing in lights, maintaining your bike and educating yourself with cycle training.
Where do you stand on the helmet debate? 💬
Disclaimer: We do not advocate riding without a helmet.
Take all necessary precautions while on your bike.
