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The invisible bike helmet

Posted at 2:55 PM on August 14, 2012 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Sports

The great Twin Cities bicycle helmet debate of 2012 has had me poking around for alternatives to bike helmets. Today, I stumbled upon this. It's a solution that isn't a helmet at all.

The Invisible Bicycle Helmet | Fredrik Gertten from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

It might have some flaws for summertime use, however.

Comments (7)

Not wearing a helmet is the equivalent of saying "Meh, if I get in any but the most trivial bike accident, I'd prefer to just die."

Posted by Albatross | August 14, 2012 2:59 PM

You only need to wear a helmet when you plan on landing on your head. All those other times, just leave the helmet at home.

Same with seatbelts, only useful in accidents, so why wear them the rest of the time?

Posted by Titus | August 14, 2012 3:05 PM

I think THAT is the coolest invention that I've seen in weeks! Thanks, Bob!

Posted by Chrissie McKinnon | August 14, 2012 3:05 PM

I wear a helmet and it has become second nature. Now just like forgetting to buckle my seat belt, it feels weird not having a helmet on if I am on a bike.

Posted by Josh | August 14, 2012 4:30 PM

Old news! Saw this a couple of years ago.

Posted by HDizzy | August 14, 2012 5:03 PM

Actually, most bike helmets don't help if you're hit by a car. From the statistics I've read, fatality rates are the same for helmet-wearers and non-helmet wearers in bike-car crashes. Now maybe that's out of date and the helmets have gotten better, but that's the data I've seen.

Bike helmets protect against head trauma from smacking your head on the pavement (when you fall or hit a tree). They don't prevent your neck from breaking or other internal injuries sustained when a motorized vehicle strikes you.

Furthermore, research has shown that risk-tolerance on the part of both bikers and drivers increases when the biker is wearing a helmet. Perceived safety makes people do stupid things - like drive within the 3-foot safe passing zone, which happens 30% more often when a biker is wearing a helmet. Drivers see a biker not wearing a helmet and they subconsciously slow down and give him/her more space - which is hugely more helpful than a helmet that doesn't prevent your death anyway.

Although, that only applies to adults. Typically kids are not perceived as "safe, competent" riders, so even if they're wearing helmets drivers are more cautious around them.

So, no, I don't typically wear helmets when riding in traffic. I do on bike paths or off-road, where I'm more likely to cause myself to crash.

Posted by Susan WB | August 14, 2012 5:07 PM

wore a helmet while commuting today. Don't every day; mostly not if I'm going to be on low/no traffic streets or bike paths. Mostly do if I'm going to be on busy streets. Always in poor conditions; i.e. winter, rain. Always when mtn biking.

Posted by bsimon | August 14, 2012 10:09 PM