From Newsgroup: uk.rec.cycling


rCyThe brain is very vulnerablerCO: Dutch cyclists urged to wear helmets as road deaths rise

Helmet-wearing is rare in this nation of bike riders but authorities are pushing people to think again
Senay Boztas in Amsterdam

Sun 16 Jun 2024 11.47 BST

When 42-year-old Myrthe Boss gets on her bike to go shopping in the Dutch
town of Ede, she pops on a helmet. This act, considered essential in many countries, marks Boss out as something of a radical in the Netherlands,
where helmet-wearing is rare.

Now, however, faced with rising number of traffic deaths linked in
particular to older riders and e-bikes, the Dutch government and provinces
rCo not to mention neurologists like Boss rCo are pushing for cyclists to think again.

rCLIrCOm a huge fan of cycling but itrCOs important to protect ourselves,rCY Boss
said. rCLThe brain is a very vulnerable organ with limited capacity to
recover. If you fall from a bike and sustain a brain injury, this has
long-term consequences. And a large proportion of people who fall while
cycling have brain injury.rCY

She knows this all too well: in 2019 her mother died after a collision with
a car at a roundabout. rCLA helmet doesnrCOt prevent everything but it does ensure there is less impact from the street on your head,rCY Boss said. rCLYou see what it does in your family when you lose someone that way.rCY

The number of cyclists seriously injured each year in the Netherlands has
risen by 27% in the last decade, according to an injury prevention organisation, Veiligheid NL. The Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV) found that if all cyclists wore helmets there would be 85 fewer
deaths annually. Meanwhile, the European Transport Safety Council says fatalities in older people and e-bikers have set Dutch road safety rCLback in time 15 yearsrCY.

Cycling is part of the countryrCOs cultural identity and 28% of journeys are made by bike. Child learners often wear helmets but adults tend to be
highly resistant.

In an attempt to change this mentality, the Dutch transport ministry plans
to publish guidelines next month on voluntary helmet use. Provinces such as Gelderland and Utrecht are already doing their bit, running successful
discount promotions, while takeaway companies such as Just Eat now made
helmets mandatory for delivery cyclists. A recent editorial in the medical journal Medisch Contact had a simple headline: rCLLooks good on you, that
skull fracture.rCY

Even the Fietsersbond cyclist association is changing its tone, while
stressing that there is no excuse for reckless drivers or poor
infrastructure. rCLWe have the position that helmets donrCOt prevent accidents but it can be a wise decision to wear one on a voluntary basis,rCY said its director, Esther van Garderen. rCLEmphasising too much that you should wear a helmet would discourage people from cycling sometimes, though, and has the
air of victim-blaming. I think itrCOs coming slowly, although thererCOs no such thing as a society with zero danger and we value our culture where you can cycle safe and free.rCY

Denmark, which prides itself on an equally welcoming climate for cyclists, looks askance at its southern neighbours. Martin Hein, a transport ministry spokesperson, said that while helmets were not compulsory there, many Danes
had taken the hint after safe cycling campaigns by NGOs. rCLBecause theyrCOre smart,rCY he said. rCLWe have very little other than our heads and if we donrCOt
take care of our heads we wonrCOt be able to provide for our families.rCY

Although countries such as Australia and Sweden have strict helmet rules,
the Danes were concerned that a law would put people off cycling and end up being worse for their health. The freedom-loving Dutch have a similar reluctance, according to Patrick Rugebregt, a spokesperson for the SWOV,
which has studied a recent helmet campaign in Zeeland province. rCLPublic opinion is the most significant obstacle,rCY he said.

Bart Groothuijze, who runs the Castodian foundation promoting safer motorbiking, blames a misplaced sense of freedom and vanity. rCLMy position
is that if you donrCOt wear a helmet riding a bike, a horse or whatever
vehicle in which you are exposed to all kinds of elements, you are either stupid or you will become stupid after you crash,rCY he said.

rCLOn one hand the Dutch are quite vain, and secondly the Dutch donrCOt like to be commanded: if someone says you have to do this, they will do the
opposite. ThatrCOs embedded in our collective DNA. But one good thing with e-bikes is that the children of elderly people are saying to their parents:
you should be wearing a helmet. ItrCOs becoming more normal.rCY

<https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/16/the-brain-is-very-vulnerable-dutch-cyclists-urged-to-wear-helmets-as-road-deaths-rise>
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