Originally Posted by
njkayaker
But no one is interested in an effect that lasts "a few minutes".
Yet that's what the study bases its conclusion on. At the least, they didn't check against that likely possibility.
There is a logic fail in the conclusion as well.
Reduced speed (or greater risk) when taking the helmet off is not synonymous with
faster speeds or less risk when putting one on, but that's how they conclude. At least they qualify it with "those who use helmets routinely", yet a mandatory helmet law would be pointless for those who routinely wear helmets while for those who do not (the point of a MHL), no difference in speeds (risk) was observed.
Originally Posted by
njkayaker
No, you don't "have to" look at it that way.
If the drug store was 20 miles away, you would drive. If it was next door, you'd walk.
We are comparing the risk of driving vs cycling to this drug store. That risk when cycling is 3-5 times the risk when driving. Do you disagree?
Saying that "cycling is no more dangerous the driving" is incorrect when either trip is to a particular destination.
Originally Posted by
njkayaker
People usually have a "set" amount of time do do things "for pleasure". If they have a 1 hour "block of time", then they can ride for 12 miles or drive for 50 (it's very unlikely that they would drive at 12 mph for an hour!) Thus, the risk is more related to time than it is to distance.
That what I said, for the case of recreation.
Originally Posted by
njkayaker
At issue is comparing the risk of cycling versus driving. A related issue is people choosing to drive when they could ride instead. The overall risk to a population isn't related to the your choice.
You may think this is splitting hairs, but risk to a population is not the same as the risk of an activity, and I think that you're making a mistake in conflating the two. You are adding variables: car-free cyclists will take fewer trips for example, perhaps shorter ones. Most people aren't going to find it credible to say, for example, cycling is safer because you biked 1.5 miles to Taco Bell instead of driving 15 miles to Burger King.
For the activity, hold other things equal. Same purpose for the respective trips, same destination, what is the risk.