We are now in times where the amount of wheeled vehicles has vastly increased over the last few years –
with bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters and plenty of hybrid creations litter the streets and pavements.
This is, in many ways, fantastic: presenting a myriad of transport options for those who wish to travel emission-free and gain some exercise on the way.
However, it is critical that users of bikes and scooters that they are used as safely as possible, and that requires the usage of a helmet.
Yet this is, sadly, far from always the case, with studies finding that the use of safety helmets is falling, particularly in children.
But why, and what can be done to solve the issue? Let’s see the reasoning they give…
Helmets are ugly or silly
Up to 37% of child respondents to a survey on helmet use said that they found bike helmets to be ugly or silly and
named this as their primary reason for ceasing wearing one. Indeed, bike helmets have never been seen to be much of
a fashion statement and amongst such a self-conscious demographic finding their own personal style,
it’s not surprising there are concerns on aesthetics.
The solution? Helmet manufacturers must aim to produce
styles that appeal more to the younger generations. They may also choose to advertise
with athletes or celebrities to boost brand perception and aim more toward ‘cool’ status.
Helmets are uncomfortable
While we can likely all regale tales of our parents telling us that the discomfort of wearing a helmet was far from that
we’d experience with a head injury, 15% of respondents said that they had stopped wearing a cycle helmet completely because of it.
The answer to this issue lays at the hands of the manufacturers, but also for further education on exactly how best to position and
wear a helmet for both optimum comfort and safety.
If a child believes a helmet to be uncomfortable, they’re likely to tilt it back,
undo the chin strap or wear it unevenly, if they wear it at all. With this greatly impacting the efficiency of said helmet in an accident,
it’s worth noting that the unknown percentage of children doing just this must also be considered.
Helmets are inconvenient
For children cycling to school, 13% who had stopped wearing a helmet said it was because they found it to be ‘inconvenient’.
This number lessened as children got older, indicating an earned maturity that eventually balances out perceived
convenience with perceived value. For children, there’s a variety of reasons they may believe this, especially on a ‘school run’ –
including that they can be hot and mess up hair, there’s nowhere to store them in school, and that they’re something heavy to carry around.
Schools themselves can aid in negating this perception, by offering mirrors and time for cycling children to
neaten their hair after arrival to meet uniform standards and offering safe storage facilities for helmets through the day.
While indeed we may be a while away from making bike helmets a desirable item for children, there’s certainly plenty of progress that
can be made in getting there.
The first, perhaps, is leading by example. As an adult reading this… did you wear your helmet on your commute today?
