Appeared on October 9, 2010
Research conducted by Mark F. Stehr, Ph.D., assistant professor of economics, was mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article about bicycle helmets. Stehr and a colleague at the University of California found that while new helmet laws reduce bicycle deaths among young riders by about 19 percent, it’s mainly because many of them give up cycling altogether. Using surveys of parents, the professors find that about 650,000 fewer children ride bikes each year after helmet laws go into effect. That’s about 81,000 fewer riders for every life saved. Helmets may save lives, but the dork factor also takes its toll.