The bicycle helmet has been a much-discussed topic among cyclists for years. One is in favor of it and the other thinks it is a clumsy and ugly thing that ruins your haircut. You have them in many shapes and sizes and you increasingly see cyclists with a bicycle helmet on in traffic. In other countries, the bicycle helmet has been standard equipment for cycling for some time. With us Dutch, wearing a bicycle helmet is not yet in our cycling DNA. Doctors in our country have been sounding the alarm for ages, many injuries from bicycle accidents could have been less serious if they had worn a bicycle helmet. The helmet can absorb part of the blow, and possibly reduce serious brain damage. An accident is just around the corner, especially now that more and more electric bicycles are appearing in traffic. The Netherlands is truly a cycling country and there has been a significant increase in electric bicycles in recent years.

According to various media, there has been an enormous increase in patients entering the emergency room in recent years because they fell with an electric bicycle. Wearing a bicycle helmet is still not an obligation in our country and it remains to be seen whether this will change in the future. There is a helmet requirement for the speed pedelec. These are electric bicycles that can reach speeds of 45 km/h with the help of pedal assistance. We now know that the law for light mopeds has been amended and that light mopeds and their passengers are required to wear a bicycle helmet from July 2022. The ANWB has published a bicycle helmet test, in this test 11 bicycle helmets ranging from Euro 35 to Euro 130 were tested. The helmets have been tested for safety, ease of use, heat resistance and the presence of harmful substances in the helmet. Maybe this one gives bicycle helmet test a decisive factor for people who are not sure which bicycle helmet they should choose.

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