Nearly 200 cyclists per day in emergency room; Gov't launches 'wear a helmet' campaign
Last year, 74,300 cyclists ended up in emergency rooms across the Netherlands, including 48,900 with serious injuries. That amounts to nearly 200 cyclists in the emergency room per day, according to new figures from VeiligheidNL. Yet only 4 percent of Dutch cyclists wear a helmet. The government is launching a campaign to try and change that.
About half of the cycling victims last year broke a bone. 13 percent suffered minor brain damage, and 4 percent suffered serious damage to their brain or skull.
With the “Zet ‘m Op” (Put it On in English) campaign, Minister Barry Madlener of Infrastructure and Water Management wants to increase the percentage of cyclists who voluntarily wear a helmet to 25 percent in 10 years. The Minister’s plans mention “self-conviction” as the most important tactic.
That will be no easy task, behavioral scientist Inge Merkelbach of Erasmus University told NOS. “Change always leads to resistance.” And that is even more true for ingrained habits like cycling without a helmet or if the change is experienced as uncomfortable. “You have to buy a bicycle helmet, it does something to your hair, and no one else wears one. People find that unpleasant: we don’t want to be the odd one out.”
The wear a helmet campaign is initially aimed at parents of young children, commuters, and the elderly. The campaign includes discounts, events across the country where you can try out a helmet, and efforts to make helmets more attractive.
