Freakonomics on helmet laws

[CNY rider]

Interesting little blurb on bike helmet laws, and fewer kids riding in states that have them.

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/do-bike-helmet-laws-discourage-bicycling/

This part made sense: Helmet laws make cycling seem more dangerous than we used to think it was. Therefore, a certain kind of parent develops a bias against it, and no longer encourages his or her kids to ride a bike — or, perhaps, never even bothers to buy the kid a bike.

I am yet to read the full paper.

[rwsaunders]

I never skied with a helmet when I was younger and now it's the norm too. It didn't take a helmet to convince me that skiing could be dangerous. The first time that I placed "tag" with a pine tree at Killington confirmed it for me.

[CNY rider]

I never skied with a helmet when I was younger and now it's the norm too. It didn't take a helmet to convince me that skiing could be dangerous. The first time that I placed "tag" with a pine tree at Killington confirmed it for me.

But what if you had never gone skiing when you were younger, and now you're a parent and you see that helmets have become the norm. Does it make you less likely to let your kid ski?
I can't answer this because I grew up riding and skiing. But there are a lot of parents who didn't, and many of them seem to hover over their kids obsessively worrying about perceived dangers that may not even be real.

[VTCaraco]

Does the helmet have anything to do with the culture of worrying?

I got an interesting forward today about growing up in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s or 70s. One of those 'we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant...'. Now there's some things that clearly are bad for you (i.e. smoking), but I think that we, as a whole, obsess over details in a different way today.

I'm a teacher.
The number of parents who come in today trying to tell me what to teach and how to teach it is definitely different than it was even 10 years ago; so to me it's not the helmets or no-helmets as much as a cultural phenomena of hovering and worrying.

[false_Aest]

I blame solipsism, the media, communism and Nancy Reagan.

[rwsaunders]

But what if you had never gone skiing when you were younger, and now you're a parent and you see that helmets have become the norm. Does it make you less likely to let your kid ski?
I can't answer this because I grew up riding and skiing. But there are a lot of parents who didn't, and many of them seem to hover over their kids obsessively worrying about perceived dangers that may not even be real.

I see some of this with soccer, as a lot of parents outfit their kids with mouthguards, helmets and sports glasses. If they feel good about, so be it by me.

I think that some of the parents would play for their kids if we let them...

[CNY rider]

I blame solipsism, the media, communism and Nancy Reagan.

You mean the liberal media, Fox News, or both?
You also forget Dubya, Hillary Clinton and the Beatles.

[torquer]

Not sayin' the paper is wrong, necessarily, just wondering what other factors are in play here.

One good check would be to see what the comparable statistics are for motorcycle-helmet laws. Does riding go up, down or level when mandatory helmet laws are enacted or repealed?

[Ozz]

I see some of this with soccer, as a lot of parents outfit their kids with mouthguards, helmets and sports glasses. If they feel good about, so be it by me.

I think that some of the parents would play for their kids if we let them...
This past weekend, for an indoor soccer team I coach, I had a mom ask me if it wouldn't be better if the players wore bicycle helmets....because "the ball just moves so fast." :cool:

It was all I could do not to laugh at her.....

However, if a kid wears glasses...nothing wrong with the Kurt Rambis look...... :beer:

A mouthguard if the kid has braces? Maybe?...I think it would be more of a choking hazard.

My kid wears a ski helmet(when skiing, not soccer ;) )....it keeps his head as warm as a hat, and holds his goggles in place.

Great cartoon btw. :beer:

[slowgoing]

Ridership is down because kids are playing more video games and chatting on facebook. Nothing more to it than that.

[buck-50]

But what if you had never gone skiing when you were younger, and now you're a parent and you see that helmets have become the norm. Does it make you less likely to let your kid ski?
I can't answer this because I grew up riding and skiing. But there are a lot of parents who didn't, and many of them seem to hover over their kids obsessively worrying about perceived dangers that may not even be real.
I dunno- I never skied when I was a kid, never wore a helmet when I learned to ski 15 years ago and then woke up in the MRI at St. Mary's hospital with a severe concussion. Now I wear a helmet. Neither the helmet nor my crash make me think it's too dangerous for my daughter to ski, just that she needs the proper safety gear.

Same with bikes- I grew up without helmets- never had one until I bought my first mountain bike back in the 80s. But, they make sense to me now, so I wear helmets whenever I get on my bike. My daughter has learned to love hers. She's only 2, we'll have to see what she thinks in 10 years.

Honestly, the kind of parents who are scared by helmets are the kind of parents who are scared by everything. Fear of helmets is just another convenient excuse to keep the kid indoors, in super-safe-nerf-world where all they have to worry about are obesity and heart disease.