The following appeared in a health newsletter.
“A ten-year nationwide study of the effectiveness of wearing a helmet while bicycling indicates that ten years ago, approximately 35 percent of all bicyclists reported wearing helmets, whereas today that number is nearly 80 percent. Another study, however, suggests that during the same ten-year period, the number of accidents caused by bicycling has increased 200 percent. These results demonstrate that bicyclists feel safer because they are wearing helmets, and they take more risks as a result. Thus, there is clearly a call for the government to strive to reduce the number of serious injuries from bicycle accidents by launching an education program that concentrates on the factors other than helmet use that are necessary for bicycle safety.”
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.
Although the newsletter’s author states that the decision to ride a bike without a helmet is an individual one, the argument does not delve into the reasons that might prompt individuals to make such a decision. In fact, it assumes that helmets are universally encouraged by society, which is not necessarily the case. Wearing a helmet while biking is a personal decision that is made based on many factors, including the perceived risk of an accident, the cost of the accident, and the costs associated with wearing a helmet. An individual may choose a bicycle helmet based on the nature of the road on which he or she travels. If it is a wide, flat road with few cars, for example, it is unlikely that a helmet will be worn. This may occur even if the bicyclist is familiar with the rules of the road. In another example, the bicyclist may be riding on a bike path or a trail, where wearing a helmet is not mandatory. In still another instance, the bicyclist may simply choose not to wear a helmet, believing that it does not offer any significant protection.
Finally, it is conceivable that the bicyclist who chooses to ride without a helmet has been involved in an accident that resulted in serious injury, and wearing a helmet would have been beneficial. The statistics cited in the newsletter indicate that the number of bicycle crashes in the United States has increased by 200 percent. While helmets certainly do help reduce the severity of the injuries, they still do not prevent all injuries. This means that wearing a helmet is not a guarantee of safety, and individuals should not rely on helmets to protect them in the event of a crash. Instead, they should remain alert to their surroundings at all times, follow traffic laws, and adhere to proper bike safety practices. By addressing these and other factors, the number of bicycle accidents will be reduced, and individuals will not have to sacrifice their independence in order to ride safely.
A study that thoroughly examines the reasons for bicycle helmet use would go a long way toward resolving the issue of whether helmets are beneficial or not. By identifying the factors that lead to the use of helmets, researchers would be able to determine whether people truly feel safer when they wear helmets, or if they are merely following the dictates of society. A thorough study would also make it possible to identify which individuals benefit from the wearing of helmets and those who do not. This information could then be used to increase the effectiveness of helmet use, perhaps by making helmets mandatory in certain areas or in certain situations, or by determining why some individuals who currently do not wear helmets actually do when certain factors are present.
Because helmet use is an individual decision, it is unwise to base a government policy on the use of helmets. Rather than attempting to influence people’s behavior, public policy should simply focus on making the streets safer for bicyclists by educating drivers about the importance of sharing the road, thereby ensuring that cyclists are afforded the same rights as motorists.