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Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

bikebiz.com

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Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#241

Post by nayuki »

This is very much like:

> The name "Tullock's spike" refers to a thought experiment in which Tullock suggested that if governments were serious about reducing road casualties, they should mandate that a sharp spike be installed in the center of each car's steering wheel, to increase the probability that an accident would be fatal to the driver. Tullock's idea was that the normal process of risk compensation would then lead to safer driving by the affected drivers, thereby actually reducing driving fatalities.

-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Tullock#Tullock's_spike

Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#242

Post by scatters »

isbvhodnvemrwvn wrote: post #134
mrpopo wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Helmets protect against falls. They don't protect against cars.

When you get side-swept by a car you're going to fall. Getting rammed from the side or behind is not the only collision scenario, and getting side-swept seems like an extremely more likely scenario in London out of all places, where traffic in general is slow.

Getting side swept will not happen if you don't undertake motor vehicles and don't allow motor vehicles to overtake you.

Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#243

Post by Enginerrrd »

Nextgrid wrote: post #85
yellowapple wrote: post #52

I'm sorry, and pardonner mou Français, but what in the actual fuck? Should delivery drivers not wear seatbelts because they might not be as afriad that they'll fly through the windshield? Should linemen not wear harnesses because they might be more confident working on power lines? Should warehouse workers not wear hi-vis jackets because they might be more confident working around forklifts? Should construction worke…

The problem is that as another commenter points out, passengers wouldn't feel safe next to a helmet-wearing driver while not wearing one themselves. The proper solution here is to provide helmets for passengers as well, but that raises more problems - they needs to be a way to sanitize them, multiple sizes might need to be available (I assume they need to be sized properly for adequate protection?), etc. The aforemen…

>The problem is that as another commenter points out, passengers wouldn't feel safe next to a helmet-wearing driver while not wearing one themselves.

By this logic, no one would feel safe riding a bus when the driver has a seatbelt and you don't.

Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#244

Post by darkerside »

treesprite82 wrote: post #212
stefan_ wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But a helmet will help even more. It costs nothing, what is there to reject?

I don't perceive the benefit from risk reduction of helmets in cars to overcome the hassle hurdle. But I wouldn't advocate banning others from wearing helmets in cars if they so wished.

Helmets reduce peripheral vision. I would absolutely be comfortable banning helmets in cars if people started wearing them and causing more accidents.

Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#245

Post by Sebb767 »

_Wintermute wrote: post #198
Sebb767 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if you think wearing a helmet increases risk, why do you wear one? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to force anyone to wear a helmet. It's completely fine if one wants to take that risk. But forbidding them is just insane. Also, helmets are not a get-out-of-jail-free-card. They increase your chances of survival in case of a crash, you will still get injured. Protecting people might be the least effective thing…

I never said I think wearing a helmet increases risk. I was pointing out their reasoning which many people here seem to be missing.

Fair enough, I did indeed miss that!

But I stand by my original comment, even if they do think forbidding helmets avoids a few accidents, they should have smelled the shitstorm from a mile away (and people running a bike company should really be more empathetic towards bikers).

Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#246

Post by [deleted] »

yellowapple wrote: post #52

I'm sorry, and pardonner mou Français, but what in the actual fuck? Should delivery drivers not wear seatbelts because they might not be as afriad that they'll fly through the windshield? Should linemen not wear harnesses because they might be more confident working on power lines? Should warehouse workers not wear hi-vis jackets because they might be more confident working around forklifts? Should construction worke…

[deleted]

Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#247

Post by darkerside »

masto wrote: post #158
chrisshroba wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand where you’re coming from, but I’d like to see some data rather than “what the actual fuck”. I believe there are some cases where safety protections make people act dumber - and now I’m curious if this is or is not one them. I don’t take a position either way, but I don’t feel like shouting that you’d tell your employer to eat a bag of dicks really contributes much here.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136984781... “In sum, this systematic review found little to no support for the hypothesis bicycle helmet use is associated with engaging in risky behaviour.”

Maybe the problem set they are looking at, commercial riders on a schedule, is very different from the wide ranging meta study that you linked.

Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#248

Post by lostgame »

Nextgrid wrote: post #85
yellowapple wrote: post #52

I'm sorry, and pardonner mou Français, but what in the actual fuck? Should delivery drivers not wear seatbelts because they might not be as afriad that they'll fly through the windshield? Should linemen not wear harnesses because they might be more confident working on power lines? Should warehouse workers not wear hi-vis jackets because they might be more confident working around forklifts? Should construction worke…

The problem is that as another commenter points out, passengers wouldn't feel safe next to a helmet-wearing driver while not wearing one themselves. The proper solution here is to provide helmets for passengers as well, but that raises more problems - they needs to be a way to sanitize them, multiple sizes might need to be available (I assume they need to be sized properly for adequate protection?), etc. The aforemen…

>> The problem is that as another commenter points out, passengers wouldn't feel safe next to a helmet-wearing driver while not wearing one themselves.

I actually laughed out loud reading this.

So what? It’s the company’s job to ensure safety for the riders and the staff. There are many places in the world where it’s actually illegal not to wear a helmet.

If you get into a business like this; and you didn’t factor this in, you’re a plain and simple idiot and your business deserves to fail if you make it the staff’s problem.

Shame on these idiots. I’d never heard of these guys before, and my first impression is one of the worst I could have. How is this even worth it for them from a PR side?

Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#249

Post by darkerside »

Brian_K_White wrote: post #195
throwawayhelmet wrote: post #44

Okay, true story. Years ago I struggled with this exact logic regarding skiing with helmet. After serious consideration I decided to start skiing so carefully that I do not need a helmet. As you may guess at this point, The very first day I left my helmet home, I got into an accident and got a skull fracture. I started using my helmet again after that. (But another safety related thing I have started to really doubt.…

I've never skied with a helmet. Ridiculous. The only thing you can do about the risk of hitting or being hit, is stay home.

I have never had a serious accident but started wearing a helmet. I don't think there's a large risk either way because I don't do a lot of tree skiing. But I wouldn't call it ridiculous. No more so than wearing a bike helmet.

Re: Pedal Me bans staff riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

#250

Post by renewiltord »

slackfan wrote: post #97

Quoted post unavailable.

HN is the average person forming an uneducated Wikipedia search on the subject. Therefore has a massive status quo bias. They'd believe a study that said they're holding a cube over the fact that they can't find any corners.

There's no reason to hate that, though. It's just not an experts forum. It's just a place for average people to chat on tech-adjacent stuff. And there's no harm in that.

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