The sight of a massive amount of cyclists taking over a major highway may be enough to give any cycling advocate a heart attack, but the scene above is from 8:15 this morning during the Toronto’s Heart and Stroke Bike ride along the Gardiner and the DVP.
Keeping with the cycling theme, an article in today’s Star features a study which explores why Torontonians seem adverse to wearing helmets while riding a bike. In many places, like Halifax and Vancouver, it is mandatory to wear a helmet when riding on the road, but it Toronto once you are 18 years or older, you can choose to ditch the head protection.
At various times over a period of three weeks this spring, they counted 1,446 cyclists and found that only 44 per cent of them wore helmets. Perhaps not surprisingly, women were more likely to don headgear, but even among them the number was only about 54 per cent. Among the guys: 40 per cent.
Thanks to Jacqueline Treloar for the image.
3 comments
Choice is good. I just finished riding the Tour d’iles
in Montreal today. Helmets were optional here but many rode with one anyways. Nice to be treated like an adult capapble of weighing his/her own risks when riding a bike.
90% of cycling fatalities not wearing helmets? I would have liked to have seen the Star state their source for that one because I find it hard to believe.
The helmetless adults remind me of Gary Busey who, after getting a metal plate in his head, insisted on not wearing a helmet when riding his motorcycle.
Helmetless riders should, like smokers, have to pay some kind of surcharge on their OHIP. Sort of like getting extreme “sportspeople” to pay a rescue bond before they climb mountains.