Helmet wearers risk more

Luise Heine has been an editor at since 2012. The qualified biologist studied in Regensburg and Brisbane (Australia) and gained experience as a journalist in television, in the Ratgeber-Verlag and in a print magazine. In addition to her work at , she also writes for children, for example for the Stuttgarter Kinderzeitung, and has her own breakfast blog, “Kuchen zum Frühstück”.

More posts by Luise Heine All content is checked by medical journalists.

How willing someone is to take risks depends on how safe they feel. A simple helmet could tempt you to behave daringly on the slopes or in traffic.

Helmets have been seen more and more in recent years: skiing has become indispensable, and normal city cyclists are also increasingly seen wearing protective headgear. Researchers Tim Gamble and Ian Walker from the University of Bath in the UK took a closer look at how wearing headgear affects risk-taking. To do this, they designed a sophisticated experimental set-up.

The subjects should not know that it was about their behavior with or without a helmet. It was suggested to the participants that eye movement is more relevant. In total, the researchers had 80 test persons aged 17 to 56 years inflate balloons on a digital simulator at the push of a button. The more the balloon inflated, the more points the test subjects got. If the balloon burst, however, the points were gone. Half of the test subjects received a baseball cap during the test, the other half a bicycle helmet - each with a technical device. The test subjects were told that the headgear was only a means of measurement.

Unwanted side effect

In fact, there were clear differences in behavior - the helmet wearers took more risks than the cap wearers. "Helmet wearers were more often willing to go all out in this type of competition," said Walker. It can be concluded from the results that safety equipment could also have undesired effects. "Applied to real life, this could mean that people who wear safety equipment also believe they are safe from dangers that the equipment does not protect against - and take corresponding risks."

Small distance to helmet wearers

Gamble had already discovered another undesirable effect of helmets in traffic a few years ago: cars kept on average 8.5 centimeters less distance from cyclists wearing helmets than from cyclists who had no headgear. At that time he concluded: "A helmet makes a collision more likely."

Because motorists divided cyclists into drawers, believes Gamble. Helmet wearers rated them as more experienced and safer in handling their bikes - accordingly, they rarely expected unpredictable maneuvers from them. The times when only professionals wear a bicycle helmet, which would justify such an assumption, are long gone.

"That's not to say you shouldn't wear safety gear," Gamble reiterates. Because it is undisputed that a helmet can prevent bad things in the event of a fall. Rather, the investigation shows that the whole topic is much more complex than one would assume.Countries that have introduced compulsory helmets should ask themselves whether this is really the right way to increase safety.

Sources:
Press release from the University of Bath: Helmet wearing increases risk taking and sensation seeking (accessed January 27, 2016)
Gamble T. and Walker I. Wearing a Bicycle Helmet Can Increase Risk Taking and Sensation Seeking in Adults; Psychological science; January 6, 2016, doi: 10.1177 / 0956797615620784

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