This seems pretty much like another “duh” moment, but it is nice to see it in writing. From the Minneaoplis Star Tribune:
Recently crunched city data show the reported cyclist-motorist accident rate dropping as the number of bike commuters grows. For 2008, the most recent year for which complete data were available, the crash rate was one-quarter that of 10 years earlier. Moreover, a trend line shows a steady decrease in the crash rate even as the number of commuting cyclists more than doubled.
So that’s the solution. More bikers = less need for helmets? I guess you can look at it that way. At any rate it is nice to see the number of cyclists increasing anywhere. Follow the link for the full article:
As bicycle use climbs, rate of crashes with vehicles falls
Albany Bicycle Coalition 