Originally Posted by
pacificaslim
In Tokyo I took my son to preschool every morning by bicycle. Between 6 months and 1 year old I carried him in harness thing on my chest and then later he sat on a seat that mounted to the front handlebars of a typical "mama chari" Japanese single speed. No, neither of us wore helmets or considered for one moment the "safety" aspect of this arrangement. It was just typical behavior in a country where people don't worry about stuff like that.
The moment the US becomes a bike friendly country (should that ever happen), people here will stop worrying about that stuff. But as long as cycling in the US is several times more dangerous than cycling in Japan, it will remain a good idea to pay more attention to protective measures when cycling here. People didn't worry about stuff like that over there because they were far less likely to die than people in countries where cyclists do worry about that kind of stuff.