I don't know about skipping it while in bed. In Canada, dying from falling off of chairs is only about a third of the amount people who die on bikes. People who die from falling out of bed however, total about the same number of people who die while on bikes. Four times as many people die from falling on stairs than die on bikes (or from beds).

It's all about perception. The fatality rate for pedestrians is far higher than for cyclists around here, yet most people think cycling is more dangerous. I doubt most people go to sleep at night thinking they'll die from a fall out of bed, but it happens.

Seniors, now there's the ticket. Seniors have a far higher rate of head injury form falls than almost any other group. Why aren't they targeted for helmet use? Maybe because they don't invoke the same emotional response that cyclists do? They don't have parents alive that'll nag 'em with their worries about it? They don't have deep enough pockets to mine for profits?