Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More - View Single Post - CPSC/Safety Test Statistics

08-26-2004, 06:48 PM

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 08:20:41 -0600, Paul Cassel <paul1@abq.com> wrote:

> Glm wrote:
>> I certainly don't want to rub salt into the wounds of the ongoing
>> helmet debate, but I was wondering whether anyone knew where I could
>> find statistics from safety tests (or other objective assessments)
>> conducted on current bike helmets.
>>
> http://www.magma.ca/~ocbc/nytimes.html
>
> will get you started. I asked too and Peter Keller sent me this link.
>
> -paul

Interesting; thank you.

Andrew Lang, 19th-century Scottish poet, was right, of course - "He uses
statistics as a drunken man uses lamp posts - for support rather than for
illumination." - and the thorny subject of the correlation between bicycle
safety and helmet wearing seems to be a quintessential example of this.
Pundits of either camp can draw upon many and varied sources of (often
weakly interrelated) data in support of their claims.

The point about moral hazard is well taken. It's interesting to see the
relationship between, for example, HIV statistics and common wisdom
regarding what is 'safe' that has preceded trends in people's behaviour.

08-26-2004, 06:48 PM	#56 (permalink)
Glm Posts: n/a	Re: CPSC/Safety Test Statistics - Where? On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 08:20:41 -0600, Paul Cassel <paul1@abq.com> wrote: > Glm wrote: >> I certainly don't want to rub salt into the wounds of the ongoing >> helmet debate, but I was wondering whether anyone knew where I could >> find statistics from safety tests (or other objective assessments) >> conducted on current bike helmets. >> > http://www.magma.ca/~ocbc/nytimes.html > > will get you started. I asked too and Peter Keller sent me this link. > > -paul Interesting; thank you. Andrew Lang, 19th-century Scottish poet, was right, of course - "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp posts - for support rather than for illumination." - and the thorny subject of the correlation between bicycle safety and helmet wearing seems to be a quintessential example of this. Pundits of either camp can draw upon many and varied sources of (often weakly interrelated) data in support of their claims. The point about moral hazard is well taken. It's interesting to see the relationship between, for example, HIV statistics and common wisdom regarding what is 'safe' that has preceded trends in people's behaviour.