Georgia Injury Law Blog
It’s one of the biggest pieces of advice that Atlanta bicycle accident attorneys would give to any bicyclist – always wear a helmet while riding.Lack of a bicycle helmet substantially increases a cyclist’s chance of a brain injury in a car accident. Unfortunately, we often see bicyclists on Atlanta streets riding without the most basic protection gear to protect against injuries in an accident.We have always wondered why a bicyclist, who is one of the most vulnerable people on the road, would leave himself or herself so open to the risk of injuries.A poll by the British Medical Journal answers some of our questions.
Thepoll results have been published in the British Medical Journal Blog, and show that the majority of people prefer not to have mandatory bicycle helmet laws because they discourage bicyclists.According to respondents, people should be encouraged to ride bicycles, and mandatory bicycle helmet laws do the opposite.They discourage people from taking to what is essentially a very healthy activity.
68% of the respondents in the poll were against mandatory bicycle helmet laws.Not only do they believe that this would discourage bicycling, but they also felt that there wasn’t enough evidence to show that wearing a bicycle helmet significantly protects a bicyclist from injury during an accident.They believe that bicyclists believe that mandatory bicycle helmets would discourage female bicyclists, typically some of the least likely to take to cycling..Additionally, mandating bicycle helmets for all would discourage bicycling in many people who’d otherwise be able to enjoy a cheap and affordable means of transportation.Overall, most of the respondents in the survey believe that mandatory bicycle helmet laws do not reduce bicycle accident-related injuries, but reduce bicyclist numbers.Some respondents even believe that mandatory bicycle helmet laws give the wrong impression that biking is a dangerous activity.
As Atlanta bicycle accident attorneys, we have some serious problems with the results of this poll.The Bridge Medical Journal does not specify the demographics of the people who were polled as part of the study.However, we hope that bicyclists in Atlanta have more sense than this.To say that bicycling is not a dangerous activity at all would be foolhardy.The fact is that most of Atlanta’s streets are designed for the convenience and safety of motorists, and bicyclists constantly face the threat of death and injuries in accidents.In any accident involving a bicycle and an automobile, it is the person riding a bicycle with a much higher risk of suffering serious or even fatal injuries.
The only protection that bicyclists enjoy during an accident is a helmet.No one believes that a helmet offers 100% protection against a traumatic brain injury in an accident.However, it does offer a reasonable level of protection against brain injuries, which result in long-term disabilities.
This summer, we would like to see more people in Atlanta making the conscious decision to wear helmets while riding.A helmet may be inconvenient, and unfashionable, but it may save your life in an accident.