[$tinkle]

the unfortunately named guardian reports

Cycle helmets may raise risk of accidents

Alexandra Topping
Tuesday September 12, 2006
The Guardian

Wearing a cycle helmet could be hazardous for your health, according to research from the University of Bath. The study of 2,500 overtaking motorists in Salisbury and Bristol found that drivers get 8cm closer to cyclists wearing helmets because they are seen as more experienced.

Female cyclists are also given more room. Traffic psychologist Ian Walker used a bicycle fitted with an ultrasonic distance sensor to record data. Dr Walker, whose research is to be published in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention, was struck twice during the experiment.

and also from UPI:

Study: Helmets may contribute to crashes

BATH, England, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A British researcher found that bicyclists who wear helmets are more likely to be struck by passing vehicles because drivers pass closer.

Drivers pass closer when overtaking cyclists wearing helmets than when overtaking bare-headed cyclists, increasing the risk of a collision, according to Ian Walker, a traffic psychologist from the University of Bath.

Walker used a bicycle fitted with a computer and an ultrasonic distance sensor to record data from more than 2,500 instances of overtaking motorists in Salisbury and Bristol.

Walker, who was struck by a bus and a truck in the course of the experiment, spent half the time wearing a cycle helmet and half the time bare-headed. He wore a helmet both times he was struck.

The study, set to be published in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention, found drivers were as much as twice as likely to get particularly close to the bicycle when he was wearing the helmet.

Walker speculates that drivers may think that helmeted cyclists were more experienced and less likely to do something unexpected than the bare-headed cyclists.

 

[Da Peach]

I think that guy needs to be hit by at leat 30 trucks before we start making any assumptions...

 

[sanjuro]

why don't we have a study of pink helmets...

 

[MMike]

I wear a suit made of helmets.

 

[jaydee]

What about those people that wear their helmets on the back of their heads, or wear those Bell styrofoam beer cooler helmets, or wear them on their handlebars, or with the strap undone? This study is flawed.