Originally Posted by closetbiker

Further, what I've seen is the refusal of those who insist on the usefulness of helmets, to see the harm that can come from the "dangerization" of cycling that is inherent in promoting helmets.

As a cycling advocate, I hate it when people "dis" cycling, and helmet promotion is thick with this. You have to pick and choose your battles. Helmet promotion plays well into some base emotions. Fear sells, people want simple answers to complex problems, and faith works for those who want to an easy solution.

Believe what you will, but the fact is, active scientific debate goes on with no consensus, on whether helmets are useful for cyclists in general, and on whether any benefits are outweighed by their disadvantages.

Respect for freedom of choice and removal of rights is central to the debate, particularly when there is no clear evidence on a helmets usefulness.