> Bike helmets mitigate one of the most serious and common forms of injury while riding bikes.
A form that is still extremely rare. No-one seriously advocates helmets for car passengers, for example, even though the injury rates are very similar.
> be hit by a car
Cars don't hit people, drivers hit people.
> They don't prevent you from doing anything you would otherwise do.
They're annoying enough that they do, in practice if not in theory. To say nothing of the fact that drivers pass you closer and more dangerously if you're wearing a helmet.
> helmets are a fantastic example of reasonable PPE, not overactive safetyism.
I'm sorry for your loss, but your school is very much an outlier; public policy should look at the overall rates, and statistically it is rare. Particularly if we're talking about an everyday school commute along surface roads (the risk profile for mountain biking or BMX-style stunt riding is quite different, and wearing helmets for those activities makes a lot of sense).
It's the most common sports related head injury by a wide margin and helmets are quite effective at injury reduction.[1] As a public health policy it makes a lot of sense. Anecdotally I've flown over my handlebars and hit my helmet without serious injury, and I'm sure I would have been in much worse shape otherwise.
On cars the law requires seat belts and airbags and a variety of other legally enforced safety measures. If you have a study suggesting that helmets would significantly help I'd be curious to see it.
> It's the most common sports related head injury by a wide margin
Interesting, but we're not talking about sport cycling, we're talking about ordinary commuting.
> helmets are quite effective at injury reduction.[1]
Your citation provides no support for your claim.
> Anecdotally I've flown over my handlebars and hit my helmet without serious injury, and I'm sure I would have been in much worse shape otherwise.
This is why we don't make public policy on the basis of anecdotes.
> On cars the law requires seat belts and airbags and a variety of other legally enforced safety measures.
All of which are a lot less unpleasant at the point of use than helmets.
> If you have a study suggesting that helmets would significantly help I'd be curious to see it.
The rates of head injury are comparable (something like a factor of 4 difference), head injuries are very common in car collisions, helmets are already routinely used in motor racing. The evidence is no weaker than that for bicycle helmet use.
A form that is still extremely rare. No-one seriously advocates helmets for car passengers, for example, even though the injury rates are very similar.
> be hit by a car
Cars don't hit people, drivers hit people.
> They don't prevent you from doing anything you would otherwise do.
They're annoying enough that they do, in practice if not in theory. To say nothing of the fact that drivers pass you closer and more dangerously if you're wearing a helmet.
> helmets are a fantastic example of reasonable PPE, not overactive safetyism.
Quite the opposite.