Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
I was thinking of safety from an actual hazard reduction standpoint.
If the riding conditions are considered "too hazardous/dangerous" for safe riding, wearing a helmet will not significantly mitigate the actual hazardous situation, though it may make the helmet wearer feel safer.
There's some truth to that. I've heard there have been studies that cars give wider berth to bareheaded riders than helmeted, for similar psychological reasons.
I'm a pretty slow/conservative (aka lazy) rider generally, so I'm not taking many risks either way. But when I don't have my helmet on, while it does feel nicer, I definitely miss the situational awareness I get from my helmet mirror.