#cyclingenvironment — Public Fediverse posts

Mandatory helmet legislation and risk perception: A qualitative study in Melbourne, Australia

"Helmets help bike riders manage the risk in their physical environment in the absence of policy changes to improve safety."

"Bike riders recognise that mandatory helmet legalisation does not tackle the risk of injury at its root."

"Mandatory helmet legislation contributes to feelings of judgement and victim blaming experienced by bike riders."

"Interviewees felt that bicycle helmets dehumanise bike riders which could lead to further violence against them."

"This study provides evidence on the complex intersection of mandatory helmet legislation and the cycling environment. Specifically, this study identified that bike riders consider risk within the overall cycling context and not in binary decisions of ‘risky’ and ‘not risky’. Interviewees saw the law as a small benefit to safety, but not an adequate substitute for meaningful infrastructure and other actions that could reduce the risk posed to bike riders by drivers of motor vehicles. Interviewees also felt that mandating helmets was an ‘easy’ policy choice as it does not require any behavioural changes from drivers of motor vehicles."

"Policies aimed at improving safety for bike riders should focus on the development of safer infrastructure first and then use personal protective equipment to mitigate any residual risk. Policies focusing on personal protective equipment legitimise blaming bike riders for getting injured and contributes to judgement and victim blaming experienced by bike riders."

"Access to safe and equitable cycling infrastructure is an important public health goal."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140523001457
#Cycling #Bike #CyclingEnvironment #infrastructure #VisonZero #MandatoryHelmet Australia #FossilFuel #MobilityDesign #violence