Brian Ratliff wrote:
Seeing as there is a lot of helmet talk going on, I would like to explore a question. Between training and safety equipment, what should the balance be as far as cycling advocacy and safety is concerned? ......
My day job is precisely safety and health engineering.
What do we want, reduce accidents or reduce injuries? The media (and many people) put a lot of emphasis on injuries, especially when there is a lot of blood around. However, the real critical aspect is
accident prevention.
Reducing accidents means reducing chances for bad encounters, be it by better driving -- speed isn't an issue in absolute term, but driving beyond one's abilities is --, better signalling, better and more predictable cycling, good roads with wide enough lanes, decent pavement, etc.
In other words, the real solution is to prevent close encounters from taking place.
Helmets, gloves, knee pads, etc. have a role to play, but only a secondary one. A good cyclist should almost never have to use his equipment, and likewise, good drivers should not put the cyclist's equipment to use.
Regards,