On May 7, 1:32*pm, SMS wrote:

Now if the AHZs want to argue that the incidence of head impact
bicycle crashes is relatively low, and that even if 100% of cyclists
wore helmets that the overall death and injury rate for cyclists would
not significantly change, that's another story entirely. In fact you
often see them desperately trying to change the discussion from the
effectiveness of helmets in the event of a head impact crash to
something like "well statistically the number of deaths did not change
much as helmet usage went up, and, oh by the way, the level of cycling
went down as helmet usage went up." The fact that there is no evidence
for the latter has not stopped them from endlessly repeating it.

Those interested in real facts, rather than straw-man arguments, might
want to start with the British Cyclists' Touring Club's take on the
subject. See http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4641

Regarding whether or not cycling drops when helmet use is mandated,
start with http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1096.html (Not all laws have
their effect clearly documented, since after Australia's experience,
it's become much more difficult to get helmet promoters and
legislators to agree to before and after surveys of bike use.)

- Frank Krygowski