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| Bicycle helmet (Photo credit: nvainio) |
Men in Helmets: Study Suggests They Ride Faster
A study of first-time bicycle-helmet users published in the American Journal of Public Health found men who wore helmets bicycled significantly faster than men who didn't wear them, whereas helmets had no effect on women's biking speed. (click below to read more)
Individuals often take more risks when they feel safer, a type of behavior known as risk compensation.
From 2009 to 2010, free bicycle helmets were issued to 1,557 volunteers in Bordeaux, France. The subjects' average age was 32 years; 58% were women. Previous helmet users were excluded.
Data was collected daily at seven locations, each equipped with two cameras programmed to detect moving objects, isolate cyclists and calculate their speed. Cyclists were photographed from above and behind.
Helmet use was recorded in 99, or 3.8%, of 2,621 movements made by 587 cyclists captured on camera.
Cycling speed of helmeted men averaged 11.9 miles an hour compared with 10.4 miles an hour for unhelmeted men. Helmeted and unhelmeted women cycled at 10.2 and 9.9 miles an hour respectively, suggesting risk compensation is a male behavior, researchers said. That behavior disappeared when helmeted men cycled in areas where speeds were extremely fast and the objective risk of injury increased, the study found.
Caveat: The study was conducted in a city with high bicycle-use rates. The 970 cyclists who weren't captured on camera may have different bicycling behaviors, researchers said.
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