Last year, 21,500 cyclists were involved in a traffic accident, the highest number in ten years. This is according to figures from Rijkswaterstaat. According to the SWOV research institute, the outlook is also gloomy: the number of road deaths is expected to rise from 675 in 2024 to 930 in 2060. This is mainly due to an increase in fatal bicycle accidents.
If everyone were to wear a helmet, according to Veilig Verkeer Nederland, that would save around 85 road deaths and 2,500 seriously injured people every year. Those who wear a bicycle helmet in the event of a fall or collision, reduces the chance of fatal head or brain injury by 70 percent.
Normalize
Veilig Verkeer Nederland therefore emphasizes that wearing a bicycle helmet should become much more normal. “We have to go to the situation that a quarter of cyclists wear a helmet. That is the point where it is normal,” a spokesperson tells it Ad. Myrthe Bos, neurologist in Gelderse Vallei Hospital in Ede, draws the comparison with the seat belt. “That also took some time before everyone used it. Now it has become an automatism.”
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Bike
In the Netherlands, only 8 percent of cyclists wear a helmet, compared to 18 percent in Flemish people and even 65 percent in Brussels. According to Wies Callens from the Belgian Fietsersbond, this is because e-bikes have been established here for some time, partly because many employees get a bike from the boss. Because the Belgian roads are often in poor condition, many Belgians feel more vulnerable in traffic and it is obvious to wear a helmet.
Patronage
Many Dutch people see wearing a helmet as impractical: it is not comfortable, ruined your hairstyle and is difficult to store. In addition, a helmet obligation in the Netherlands is often experienced as patronizing. The Belgian Fietsersbond also points to a risk of a helmet obligation: it can unnecessarily give cycling a dangerous image and discourage people from taking the bike.
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