Why Don’t the Dutch Wear Helmets?

After visiting the Netherlands recently I noticed an interesting phenomenon. It seems the Dutch don't wear bike helmets. I learned that under 1% of cyclists use helmets. I also learned that overall injuries to cyclists are way less than any place in the world, so what gives? From what I gathered, cyclists and drivers are more experienced and courteous and the roads are engineered to keep all road users. This includes bike infrastructure throughout the country.

[safe-keeper]

"So did something interesting happen today, Hank?"
"Oh ja, mom, we photobombed this random guy filming on the street and now we'll be in this YouTube video with 800 000 views!"

[mamalook]

We don't wear helmets because we'd rather break our neck than be seen with a helmet.

[koljawertheim]

Ik dacht dat hij 5 minuten lang ging uitleggen dat als je een helm draagt je d’r belachelijk uit ziet

[a.thiren]

The answear is simple and given midway in the interview: Every car driver is also a cyclist.

[lambdalandis]

I think there’s also a culture in the US that views cycling as a dangerous, somewhat deviant hobby. So the people doing it are totally responsible for their own safety. It’s why cars get so mad when bicycles are in their way. They see it in the same light as someone doing handstands in the road

[streglof]

We don't wear helmets so we can recognize the tourists. Everyone who wears one is one.

[bricology]

As someone who lived in Holland for a while, and cycled everywhere, and also lives in a major city in the US where I *also* cycle a lot, I think there are a few other factors at play.
1. The majority of cyclists in the US ride bikes with drop-bars, which puts them in a head-first position, and impairs their peripheral vision and binaural hearing. In the Netherlands, most people ride what are affectionately called "omafiets" or "opafiets" (grandma or grandpa bikes), which put the rider in an upright position, enabling them to really stay aware of everything around them, and if they *do* happen to collide with something or come-off, their head is unlikely to be the thing that gets hurt.
2. The Netherlands has *lots* of dedicated cycling roads called "fietspads" that parallel main streets, but are separated from car traffic by a curb. That goes a long way towards preventing cyclists and cars mixing.
3. Speeds of both cars and cyclists in the Netherlands are generally slower in urban areas than in the US, and there are more turns, curves, bridges, etc., which mean that both cyclists and drivers are required to go more slowly and carefully.
4. Cyclists in the Netherlands are much more common, and they become almost a mass, or a train, which greatly improves their visibility to cars.
5. One of the smartest things about cycling in the Netherlands is what's called "the Dutch open". That's not a tennis match, it's a way people learn to open car doors (from the inside). In the US, we tend to operate the door latch with our closest hand. Not so in the Netherlands; they're taught to use *the further hand* to reach over and grasp the latch. Doing so automatically turns the shoulders and head towards the back of the car, and make it much easier to check for cyclists riding by before flinging your door open into their path. If Americans could learn that simple trick, hundreds of cyclists would be able to avoid going to the hospital every year.

[peter]

Would it be safer for American pedestrians to wear a bullet proof vest?
Probably, yes.
But is the real problem the lack of protection, or is it the surplus of flying bullets?

When you can reduce speed and volume of motorised traffic, and have protected cycling infrastructure, and cyclists go at a relatively slow pace, sitting up straight, you don't need helmets.
When you dress up in lycra, and ride 40km/h or even faster, yes, please wear that helmet.

[ellispandit-spaanderman]

Actually in Netherland we have laws, that make a automobile driver "guilty" when he hits a cyclist or pedestrian, even when the cyclist made the traffic mistake. So the vulnerable traffic users are protected by law. This means, that when a car driver hits a cyclist of pedestrian, he has to pay for the costs! This among others makes safety for cyclist very well, apart from the fact that Netherland has a huge network of cycle roads.

[derp]

"Every driver is also a cyclist"

That's the key. In America, drivers have so much distain and so little understanding. People buzz me from inches away at 60 mph all the time because they hate cyclists and don't want there to be bikes at all.

Then they vote against better bike infrastructure, because they don't realize that better infrastructure means less conflict between bikes and cars. They don't want to move forward, they want to move backward and remove bikes from the picture entirely. I've even been told to grow up and get a car (I have one) when I take my bike to run errands because it's more convenient than driving. Really toxic.

[type]

Best response on helmets I heard from a Dutch person was "Helmets are needed to protect from dangers, but we've got rid of those dangers".

[Ominous]

1: Dutchmen know how to drive the bike
2: Our infrastructure is designed to divide cars and bikes.
3: No one wants to look like Calimero. Because that is not fair.

[SevenBates]

I interesting how the locals there keep pointing to the cultural reasons they don't wear helmets, and then implying the infrastructure reflects their dedication to safety and their community. To them, this is more of a cultural issue than a civics and enforcement issue.

As stated a few times in this video, the principal danger is being hit by a car and the Netherlands has, by design, placed drivers of cars in positions where they cannot feel comfortable enough to be distracted. As an American, this is the revolutionary idea, demonstrated practically.

Because our culture catered to the petrochemical / automotive industry, our cities are car-centric, and our laws only reflect the conveniences for drivers.

By design, people in the Netherlands have to worry about all the lane narrowing curves, poles, tiny roads that only allow room for one vehicle to pass in each direction; there are numerous methods that make cycling so much safer, by just slowing cars down.

When I first saw these things, I was very irritated and had to remind myself that my perspective was skewed by my American upbringing. The cognitive dissonance was significant.

[arnoldpaalder]

We often cycle without touching the handlebars.

[svoksis]

Netherlands is pretty much built for biking, all flat, bike lanes and roads everywhere

[dedikke]

If you go cycling for sport: where a helmet
If you go cycling to comute: make good infrastructure

[remcovanwoerkom]

Although I agree that part of the reason why biking is safer here, is drivers' awareness of bikers. I can say without a doubt that the main reason it's safer in NL is the fact that our infrastructure is made for cyclists to safely bike around. Dedicated bike lanes and protected intersections do more for cyclists than any helmet or protective device could.

[JRZPlayz]

In English they say: "I wear a helmet for protection"
In Dutch we say: "Ben je gek, zo'n lelijk ding ga ik echt niet op doen tijdens het fietsen!"

[RalphTGP]

Wearing a helmet in NL is the equivalent of wearing sandals with socks.

[HugeFrigginGuy]

This video certainly raises an interesting point I hadn't really thought of before! Here in the US we have prioritized cars to the detriment of all other forms of transportation and conflicts between motorists and those who seek to use our overburdened and under designed roadways is inevitable. It seems that the popularization of helmets is a way to pass the burden of responsibility to the cyclists opposed to the municipality, for building a thoughtful and inclusive infrastructure. "Oh, they were seriously injured? Were they wearing a helmet? No? Clearly an irresponsible cyclist!"