Originally Posted by hagen2456

If every accident was a case of all-or-nothing, I'd agree. I do think, though, that the Swedish paper I quoted some time ago, indicated that there is some well-documented benefit to wearing helmets. But, I also agree that it's marginal - and the signal that helmet bearing/-laws send may actually be outweighing the benefits, as they will make biking appear dangerous, thereby decreasing the "safety in numbers".

Of course, the very fact that very few cyclists are killed in The Netherlands and Denmark, where very few wear helmets, clearly indicate in itself that helmets are in no way a key factor in safety.