Helmets apparently cause as many fatalites as they prevent... maybe the same for injuries, but it is hard to tell. So... it is a very common misperception that they make us safe, that they are necessary, anyone who doesn't wear one is crazy, etc.

Why does it matter? This attitude reinforces the false perception that cycling is dangerous. Practically every person I talk to thinks I'm stark raving nuts to be riding a bicycle out on the street (helmet or no), because the pervading culture in the US is to drive the biggest SUV you can get so you will be high on the highway food chain... they want to make sure that in a collision their superior mass will be more likely to kill the other guy instead. They look at me and think I'm so vulnerable... anybody could just run right over me and I'd be dead. I must be insane.

Many people avoid doing things that they perceive are dangerous and prevent their kids from participating. Where I live there was recently a flyer sent out by the schools telling parents to not let their kids ride bikes! They can all just take the bus... much safer. It wasn't like anyone had even been hurt, much less killed! Paranoia seems a lot higher in this country than when I was a kid and I don't see it getting any better... and I think it is sad.

On average your odds of getting killed while riding a bike in the US are about 1 in 12,000,000 miles. Not bad odds IMO, but it is about 5 times more dangerous per mile than driving a car. In countries like the Netherlands where city traffic is dominated by cyclists (who happen to not wear helmets) the fatality rate is 4-6 times less than in the US, so about the same as it is driving a car here.

The first time I saw this series of photos I just loved it, because it shows a much more efficient, healthy, and enjoyable way to get around in a city than the crawling gridlock of vehicles and parking lots that is common in the US. I figured that most cyclist would agree, but I guess many don't.
http://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/
http://copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com/

IMO it would be a very positive change if we could adopt a similar culture in the US. Cycling would be safer and a lot more people would participate, and the city environments would improve IMO. Just a better way to live.

So if I'm a troll for promoting the ideas that cycling is safe (but could be safer) and that helmets do not make us safer and are therefore unnecessary... then guilty as charged. I'd like to see more people out riding, and I'd like to see the towns configured to make it safer and more convenient to do so. I don't want to see more MHLs or other legislation that restricts the use of bicycles by the general population, for no good reason! Once these things are enacted they never seem to get repealed...