BATH, England, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A British researcher found that bicyclists who wear helmets are more likely to be struck by passing vehicles because drivers pass closer.
Drivers pass closer when overtaking cyclists wearing helmets than when overtaking bare-headed cyclists, increasing the risk of a collision, according to Ian Walker, a traffic psychologist from the University of Bath.
Walker used a bicycle fitted with a computer and an ultrasonic distance sensor to record data from more than 2,500 instances of overtaking motorists in Salisbury and Bristol.
Walker, who was struck by a bus and a truck in the course of the experiment, spent half the time wearing a cycle helmet and half the time bare-headed. He wore a helmet both times he was struck.
The study, set to be published in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention, found drivers were as much as twice as likely to get particularly close to the bicycle when he was wearing the helmet.
Walker speculates that drivers may think that helmeted cyclists were more experienced and less likely to do something unexpected than the bare-headed cyclists.
