That might be true in the short term, as those who previously did not wear helmets are required by law to do so, and give up cycling. But I am not sure it is correct where there has been a long term requirement that people wear helmets and I would have thought people gets used to that requirement. There are many variables that affect the number of cyclists - social trends (is it fashionable to cycle?), environmental concerns, health concerns and, at least in Australia at the moment, the price of fuel. Cycling seems to be very popular in the city that I live in, and talking to local bike shops they are selling more bikes than ever, and a lot of people cite increasing fuel costs as the reason.Don Shipp said:Helmets change not only the pattern for death and injury for cyclists, but also the pattern for cycling throughout the population.
Compulsory helmet wear leads to fewer cycists, and therefore fewer cycling related deaths. But in the longer term the decline in bike use leads to a greater health burden.
Would more people ride bikes in NSW, Australia if they didn't have to wear a helmet? It would be an interesting thing to test, but any answer is oure speculation. My gut feeling is there might be a very very small increase, but most people would chose to wear a helmet even if the requirement to wear one were removed. My belief is that most people put on a seatbelt because it will make them safer, not because the law requires it.
I think it is quite a different issue in places like the UK where the wearing of helmets is not prescribed by law. There also seems to be this "it is my right not to wear a helmet" part of the UK cycling community, and that does not seem to be a factor in Australia (other than perhaps amongst young teenagers who see it as a rebellious thing to do).
I had a very good reason to be pleased i was wearing a helmet whilst riding to work this morning - bleeding magpie had a go, and kept going for quite some time despite my speed being about 45 kph. Needless to say, I;d have a few scratches on my head if I was sans helmet.