09-14-2019, 12:52 AM
(09-13-2019, 10:43 PM)plam Wrote:(09-13-2019, 09:34 PM)panamaniac Wrote: There are society-wide harms that result from bicyclists not wearing helmets?
Society-wide harms from expectations to wear helmets. Places with mandatory helmet laws have pathetic cycling mode share: some people are just not going to wear helmets and so they're going to drive their car instead of their bicycle. This makes biking less safe for those who do ride their bicycles.
Is it reasonable to think that you should have to wear a helmet while walking?
People should wear a helmet if they're walking into traffic like idiots. Otherwise, no, because most walkers don't move fast enough. Helmets are supposed to protect bikers from certain accidents, including falling off of their bike and whacking their head. It doesn't take much to get a concussion and/or a hematoma.
That said, I don't see the harm in the expectation of having to wear a helmet. Many bikers wear a helmet without complaint, and without any sort of PTSD or other psychological harm. But one can still decide NOT to wear a helmet, but there is a risk to that, especially if the biker himself/herself doesn't follow basic traffic laws. (For example, today I saw two bikers almost run over by the Ion when they road around the gates where Courtland meet Fairway. Sure, motorists are guilty of not watching out for bikers (when the biker is riding legally), but many bikers are guilty of not obeying any road rules.)
However, it seemed to be that this discussion was about whether or not publishing important information was 'shaming' or not. Many people here believe it isn't, some believe it is. My take on it, it could be for some, but the reason isn't to shame, but rather remind the public of consequences of certain actions. We have constant reminders in the news, for example, of people being ripped off in regard to the Canada Revenue Agency. They even publish names of the person ripped off. It's with hopes that people might pick up on this type of stuff. More recently, Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro has been demanding bit coin and iTunes cards from there customers -- but of course it actually isn't Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro, but scammers. However, no face, no names, so no news articles, just a tweet (IIRC).
We, as society, could decide to ignore all of these things and never publish any incidences. If we did that, then some getting a call from "the CRA" might believe it. Some might actually forget the need for smoke/fire detectors. We don't even need to report these idiots being charged for street racing when then kill themselves when travelling 220 kph in a 50 kph zone.