Helmets Make Cyclists 'Less Than Human'…So What Should We Do? | The GCN Show Ep. 546

40 Comments

1. What do you think? Share your thoughts with us below 👇

2. I think the concept of 'othering' extends to the type of bike and equipment the rider uses.

3. Am i the only one who wonders why there is a Rockstar ( the creators of GTA V ) thingey in the back

4. Si, interviewing Mark Limb, is Si in a bunker or something?

5. If we had the cycling infrastructure like Netherlands we wouldn’t need helmets.

6. I think people's attitude towards cyclists depends on the cultural context- and the number of cyclists in a particular area. In Seattle, where I live, there are enough cyclists that most people just treat them like they treat anyone else regardless of helmets. I recently rode around in Victoria, B.C., Canada, and drivers there were even more tolerant than they are in Seattle. In contrast, when riding to Victoria, through rural areas of Washington State in the US, I encountered several drivers who passed me at very high speeds, very much closer than they needed to, for no apparent reason at all. My best guess is that these people were signaling their displeasure at my presence on the road, but it's also possible that they're just bad drivers….

7. Caption Competition : Remco Disappearapol

8. Sadly, here in Australia there are a group of self entitled brain dead bogan idiots, that believe they own the road just because they pay car registration. I pay car registration also, but you don’t here me complaining about them shooting beer cans off a log or driving like “F wits” in their modified cars. I’ll continue to ride on the road, but would be lying if I didn’t think am i coming home today every time I head out😢 P.S. I’d be happy to pay bike registration if that was to make any form of difference.

9. #captioncontest "And strike a pose for the winners' photo".

10. Truth is Australia is jam packed full of self important rednecks that dislike anybody that does a sport or use a vehicle that doesn't conform to the image of normal they have in their narrow tiny little minds , these supposed normal people call cyclists road lice especially a couple in a 4wd my wife overheard describing cyclist 2 days before the world championships in wollongong but when one comes home to Australia with a gold medal or a world championship then they are accepted but quickly forgotten as they weren't wearing footy boots at the time no joking here come to Australia and see this for yourself it actually happens ….

11. I'm living in Bangkok. I drive and ride in Bangkok and I would say, the majority of the time, other drivers are more courteous towards me cycling than driving.

    However, regarding the dehumanisation of cyclists, at least I look human on a bike rather than a metal robot with blacked out windows for eyes.

12. #captioncompetition I think my little personnal turbine has leaked a little bit. Those white shorts will not forgive.
    At least I will leave my mark on this day.

13. I've got black cycling shoes and am not a fan of drivetrain cleaning. Just slap on some more lube and off I go. Now I have been informed that's the height of sartorial elegance, fancy.

14. GCN Show: cycling helmets can dehumanize cyclists, GCN Tech Show: extra large aero helments will make you faster

15. I choose to wear a helmet for my own safety, not because I am "told" to or feel pressure to. Most of my negative interactions out on the roads (in London) are with other cyclists being dangerous, jumping lights, not paying attention etc. I can't say the survey in any way supports anything I have experienced on the roads. As for cycling not being dangerous…. OK, I agree, but it has inherent dangers. Fall over walking at 3mph, graze your knee, maybe fracture your wrist. Fall off a bike at 15mph, it hurts a lot more, and having products available to help minimise those injuries is a good thing surely.

16. The dehumanization article is open source so go read it, people complaining about methodology. No study has perfect methodology. Anyone who has done research extensively knows that you have to do small studies as proof of concept before you can get money to do massive studies. Media often distorts results and conclusions of studies… hence the importance of quality science writing. One thing I didn’t see in the demographic data is whether survey respondents were also car drivers. I’d hypothesize that car drivers who are also cyclists are more empathetic and see cyclists while driving as humans. Car driving and cycling can’t be binary in places like the U.S. and Australia, which are really car-centric places.

17. #captioncompetition Look mom, no hands and all the teeth!

18. 500 survey respondents is very statistically significant number. Interesting though.

19. Telling everyone on the group ride that's it's your recovery day is almost always a good reason for the rest of us to put the hammer down.. 😉

20. If a cyclist is considered less than human, for wearing a helmet, then what does this say about car drivers? They're sitting in a metal box, sitting in a traffic jam, like the absurd human being that they are. Car drivers, not only appear less human, for being reduced to being a car, but for absurdly getting stuck in traffic jams, rather than walking, taking trains or cycling.

21. I'm thinking that's the Australian national anthem

22. got an ad after 1:05 of watching

23. I try to stick to trails. That way I don't have that fear and can enjoy my ride. Although joggers and walkers who wear ear buds or headphones like Beats, worry me because they can't hear you when you warn them with "on your left".

24. Very important issue.
    Reminds me of a study done in the United Kingdom, which showed that a male cyclist wearing a helmet and hi vis was far more likely to be close passed by a car than a female wearing no helmet.
    The safest cyclist on that survey was a male, wearing a fake police hi vis jacket, funnily enough.
    When I was hit by a car two years ago, while cycling home, with a helmet, hi vis and lights, I was thrown in the air, but got lucky, didn't break anything.
    The next day, I went for a cycle (on another bike) and noticed my helmet was broken.
    Dont remember hitting my head, but that helmet saved my life.

25. I always wwear a helmet and dont care what people think. I dont think the road are that dangerous if your a confident cyclist. I wouldn't be seen dead wearing hi vis.

26. interesting explanation and nuance from the study author that I hadn't heard in other coverage. My takeaway is that while I'm still not sure that the finding as a whole isn't just bogus, that people didn't just pick a stupid survey choice to a bad question, it definitely seems impossible to apply outside of Australia. If you give 5 outlines of people in different clothes and require picking one as "less human", I don't see how the conclusion can be that the choice actually means that the person thinks that one is in fact less human

27. That was the Aussie anthem, not New Zealand's! 😢🤬

28. Even the gentleman in the interview about dehumanization said that the danger occurs when cyclists interact with motor vehicles. This is like those frustrating headlines that say things like “Cyclist killed when struck. By car.” While that may be strictly true, the issue is the behavior of the people in co tell if those cars. As cyclists and road safety advocates, it is essential for us to humanize the drivers by holding them responsible, and not simply saying that “a car hit a cyclist.” No: A person hit that cyclist with their car.

29. don't cyclists want to be more aero? and wearing a helmet makes you more aero, so why don't they want to wear helmets?

30. There is a cargo bike for transporting every instrument in a symphony orchestra. The only people that might need help are the percussion, not just lots of instruments but timpani are quite bulky.

    I know this because I was considering this in rehearsals before buying mine to transport my cello.

31. Well, to be honest…there were only 4 pros on the start line (1 of was a team mate of Pog) and on TT he was the only pro there. Not much of an achievement.

32. Replace them with a bonnet and long dress = the Mary Poppins Effect.

33. I bike, I walk, I drive a car, and I ride a motorbike. The notion of being blatantly ignorant of anyone else is vehicle agnostic. I see transportation as a 'dance' all with different types of partners (vehicles). It just comes down to respect. 

    In regards to cycling in the Netherlands – it's because anyone driving ALSO rides a bike, there's an outrageously high standard for driving, and bike are viewed as a means of transportation (not a recreational toy). I don't know what the atmosphere is like 'down-undaa' but here in the states bikes are still largely viewed as recreational toys and not a viable transportation option. Even within cities.

34. Kudos to Simon for conducting the interview in a medieval dungeon.😂

35. Dan : " I've never seen a matching shoes and chain combo before"
    Too many of the rest of us: " May I present my black shoes and filthy wet lubed chain, for your consideration."

36. #captioncompetition: Red pill, you're selected for the Tour de France, blue pill, you can sit on your couch watching it. Which hand do you choose?

37. not a lot to do with this video, but what are GCNs views on the Lotto Dstny situation where their sports director allan davis has been sending creepy messages to women all over twitter, and then those women getting theatened by allan and the teams press officer when they spoke about it, and on top of that, he has been threatening journalists for daring to retweet any of it

38. I'll never understand how anyone in a car can use that as a weapon, that's a criminal act and to see that as natural is very very very concerning and i just truly think that's normal…an education severely needs carrying out towards drivers.

39. #captioncompetition After a disappointing Giro and underwhelming Tour de Suisse, Remco manages to dig deep and pull out a win in the National champs Road race.

40. The question now is how many motorists are deliberately crashing into cyclists because they don't see them as being human. Seeing them as less human compared to deliberately crashing into them are 2 different outcomes. Seems like the research was an attention grab just like the below commenter mentioned.

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