The "invisible bicycle helmet" is the ultimate example of cycling safety narcissism

My most popular blog entry is about what I call "lux-narcissism", i.e. over-lighting a bike and its rider to the detriment of others legally-illuminated, and pedestrians. I have also written about this invention from Sweden and helmetism in general many times before.

The Hövding is the ultimate example of bicycle safety narcissism. Aside from the obnoxious marketing hyperbole it costs EUR 400 in the EU and 600 in the USA. IF you really think a helmet can help, then buy five 60 dollar helmets for friends and give 300 dollars to your local bicycle coalition or another org. fighting desperately to keep streets save and collisions from happening in the first place.

Very much related, in 2005 helmets became mandatory in Sweden for people up to their 15th birthday and this has not helped improve cycling modal share. So - at least in part - this creation is opportunist.

Please notice that I am not mentioning efficacy, durability, its single use function, comfort or any other technical or aesthetic issues. I also hope that my criticism would be the same for a project led by two men.

The problem is that it is simply far too expensive for most people. Their whole business plan is totally wrong -- they got money from the Swedish or regional government but also from private sources. Regarding the latter, they obviously completely screwed up and should have required a much longer period that investors were willing to wait to get paid back.

It is truly a pity because maybe this works... maybe not. People joke about the "Chinese" ripping off the design, so we'll see if the price on devices exactly like this or better comes down by a factor of five.

Again, I am against helmet requirements for any age group, helmet promotion by governments and similar from non-profits (e.g. urban cycling organizations) which do not show the real deal with helmet efficacy. Most helmet companies also use a lot of hyperbole or even insults e.g. "I Love my Brain". 

I am for infrastructure, training and enforcement that ensures that people on bikes and everyone else dwelling in, visiting or just using the street are as safe, social and have as much fun as they want.

How Do We Please the "American" God of Bike Helmet Compulsion?

From Capital Bikeshare in Washington D.C. Helmet imagery everywhere is bad enough, but showing bad fitting is pathetic (and I told them directly and indirectly many times about this photo).

Well, well, well...

You would think that they (Alta Bicycle Share, various govt. officials with the honourable and good intentions of implementing bike share, etc.) would have learned (a lesson in/their lesson in) Melbourne.

Capital Bikeshare in Washington D.C. is bad enough, seemingly not strictly requiring helmets but limiting liability of the operator if injuries are incurred by helmet-less users (helmets are not required under D.C. law for people old enough to use the bikes) See Section 26 of User Agreement in the previous link and their Safety Page. (This programme is partly funded by taxpayers; one wonders why people who ride collective public transport in D.C. do not have to sign a safety pledge about e.g. proper foot attire.)

Sadly, with the new bike share system in another USA right-coast city which opened last week, it gets worse.

NYC's bike share operator may be decided this month. Whoever the winner, given the high amount of helmet-wearing there, endorsement of helmets by Janette Sadik-Khan and Transportation Alternatives, and general victory of the "Everything is Good" Committee, I would not be surprised if the rules there also mandate helmets.

Draw a Line in the (left-coast Canadian) Sand against Helmetism at Velo-city Global 2012 in Vancouver!


Update - 9:44pm: @BrooklynSpoke Tweeted earlier this evening: "I don't think they will enforce helmet use. Seems like a way for Hubway to cover itself against litigious Americans." - This is clearly the case, but - as I mentioned above - why does collective PT not have the same conditions, and how about just using the pavement (sidewalk)? Compulsion is compulsion.