This is so important for Americans to understand.

So, the low amount of accidents here is due to excellent bike lane / road separation, special awareness training during driving exams, early practice on bikes for kids, and a culture of cyclist is king. Helmets save lives. Stay safe, wear one, and give one to your kids.

Sorry that is just bullshit. Better infrastructure is great, but even at the best, it will always be safer with then without. Just saying, although I often do not wear one myself.

Factually inaccurate. SWOV reports that in 2023, 7,400 people were seriously injured in Dutch traffic, and 70% of them were cyclists. CBS reports that in 2024, 246 cyclists died in traffic accidents, and in 60% of cyclist fatalities, a head injury was the main cause of death.

Cycling is more dangerous than driving, period. Even in the Netherlands, there are 15.6 cycling deaths per billion km vs 1.7 driving deaths per B km; so cycling is 9× riskier than driving even there. This means making cycling easier for people = more transportation deaths.

Ridiculous! That's like saying putting a seat belt on in a car tells you that "cars are dangerous". Many cyclists in Amsterdam routinely go through red traffic lights and have little regard for pedestrians. Use of e-bikes and fat bikes are increasingly dangerous (fat bikes just got banned from being used in Vondelpark – our Central Park). Plus there's a 27% increase in injury for cyclists in the last decade. Wear a helmet!

But this is wrong. For the same mileage driven, more cyclists die in the Netherlands than, for example, in Germany.

Americans die from not biking.

The answer is in the video; it works in the Netherlands because there’s infrastructure, behaviour and culture. I’ll continue wearing my helmet in the UK as there are some rabid drivers who see cyclists as their arch enemies and it feels increasingly less safe to ride here

@frecklesfairy That is bullshit. Beside using wrong figures it is kind of crazy to argue against a helmet.

When I was a kid, 50s, 60s, every kid had a bike. We used to set up courses with jumps and tight bends etc. We rode to school, the shops, swimming. I never knew of any kid to get a head injury. Skinned knees, elbows. Bruised and battered chests and stomachs from hitting the handlebars with them. But not one head injury. So in my experience they don't achieve much. Apart from giving the user a false sense of security perhaps.

You’re getting lots of weird, mad comments here, all missing the key points: 1. Wearing a helmet is good, definite safety benefit. Recommended. 2. Making helmets mandatory makes cycling observably less attractive for many people who may otherwise bike. General societal negative.

City people disgust me. I couldn’t imagine having time to ride a bicycle. Not one of them contributed anything to society.

@EOTierney Notice Dutch bikes are the comfy cruiser type, they call them "omafiets" which is literally "granny bike" designed for ease of use and a leisurely pace. Low speed, no helmet, no problem. Racing bikes and mountain bikes and e bikes are a whole different animal. Put a lid on.

It's a cultural thing and denial regarding the Netherlands, when talks come up about helmets. SWOV reports that roughly 7 out of 10 people seriously injured in Dutch traffic are cyclists. In 2024, 60% of fatal cycling accidents listed head trauma as the primary cause of death.

Not only Americans.

This is such a bullshit. Having biked my whole life, being a real Dutchie the helmet saved my life. An accident on a safe bike road, I only can write this because of a helmet. Do whatever you want, wear or don’t wear, but don’t spread this kind of horseshit.

We learn to cycle at the age of 3 or 4 and cycle to school daily. We know how to cycle and are good at it. The reason we don’t wear a helmet has got nothing to do with demographics. We just don’t want to look like a child, an old person or a tourist. Helmets are regarded lame.

Comparing apples with oranges. Many parts of The Netherlands are dead flat and have dedicated cycle lanes. Helmets may still be wise there, but less essential. Contrast that with cities elsewhere with fast moving traffic and few dedicated lanes.

@SocialistProf Ok so they have the lowest cycling fatality rate, but what about non-fatal cycling injuries? I’d be interested to know about that.

Um yeah nah I have broken 4 helmets My daughter broke one Wear a helmet and gloves

Clumsy people might want to wear lots of safety gear, sure.

clearly not a cyclist falls happen Your choice feel free to not wear a helmet. I will continue to

@Boenau A false argument. OP is not telling you to wear no helmet, it's always your choice. OP is simply showing the safety facts, that human safety depends on designing and building safer infrastructure. Not little plastic lids on your head.

@Boenau I agree wearing a helmet is a personal choice. Infrastructure does not change that hitting your head at speed while falling off a bicycle could cause a brain injury. That is physics. The little plastic lid has prevented many of those. Your choice if you ride. I wear one always.

@Boenau All true & more significantly true is the OPs point; its fact that safer infrastructure dramatically improves human safety. By reducing modal conflict you reduce the likelihood of all accident forms & less crashes = less traumas. Helmets dont stop concussion say the manufacturers

@Boenau So legal disclaimers aside Helmets provide protection and reduce traumatic head injury in many instances including cycling. I would love to have the infrastructure of Amsterdam, I do not. Nor do I expect I ever will. I will continue advocate for it in cycling. I ride. Do you?

Cycling also looks a lot more fun there because people are actually using pedal bikes and not ebikes.

@georgebernhard If you crash a car you're fairly likely to get a head injury, despite the airbag. So, car helmets too? I'd love to see the take up on that

There's no evidence a bike helmet sends a 'signal' riding is dangerous. Riding on the road is dangerous. Everyone who rides regularly on uk roads will have had a tumble. Pedestrians stepping out, drivers cutting in....that's why you need a helmet.

Having had to hit my brakes hard, going over my handle bars, slamming my head twice on the pavement ... I'll always wear a helmet. It was split open. My head wasn't.

Er, I probably wouldn't wear a helmet in NL but, where I live, the odds of getting run over by a motor vehicle are astronomically higher. Maybe helmet wearing in NL feels unnecessary because of the infrastructure while I feel I need a helmet because of the infrastructure.

Yep. Only when it comes to safeguarding people riding bicycles do we flip this triangle upside down! Serious conversations about road safety don’t start with advocating the wearing of plastic hats.

The Netherlands, and most other European countries, have required bicycle training in school.

My take from cycling in big cities (Paris, Vienna) and in the countryside as well. It depends on how fast cars are around you. I am not using a helmet in a city where cars are driving 0-50 km/h. But on roads with a 90 km/h speed limit, I wear a helmet. And reflex elements!

Think a lot more people would be willing to ride too. To work or whatever

Because we have safe bike lanes in the Netherlands. You can cycle between cities and not having to share the space with cars. In Japan where I live, we have to use pavements to ride and this is not safe for pedestrians.

@bikejc wear a helmet you idiots.

The bike safety in Netherlands is due to good policy, infrastructure and public knowledge. We don't have that in North America. Helmets will be needed here until we have that. Correlation not causation.