Have we lost our heads?

I suppose that in the 1970’s, with the long hair and the residual 60’s carefree attitude, it was not a surprise that cyclists did not wear helmets. After all, seatbelts were rarely used, even in the few cars that actually had them. Our family Rambler, for example, had a bench seat in both the front and the back and I never recall wearing a seatbelt. This was the dawn of the mass popularity of dangerous recreation: half pipes for skateboarders, freestyle and aerial skiing, and backyard trampolines. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that bungee jumping was invented in this era. None of the pioneers in these sports wore helmets. Helmets were only for those who fell. They were a sign of weakness.

A few brain injuries later, and a fairly enthusiastic legion of aging 1950’s-born parents, emergency docs, and safety conscious politicians (who could see the effect of head trauma on healthcare costs) undoubtedly were behind the gradual recognition that helmets could help mitigate fatal injuries in sports and in many recreational activities. Ice hockey goalies graduated from no headgear to masks, then to helmets, then helmets with cages, then fancy helmets that looked like they had been crafted by the airbrush artists from the advertising world.

In these years many jurisdictions legislation was passed to make helmets mandatory. Motorcyclists, for example, were now forbidden by law to emulate Henry Fonda. Recreational skiers, skateboarders and ATV riders all began wearing helmets.

Of course, the commercial minds were quick to see opportunity in both legislation and social trends. Companies started making helmets for sports enthusiasts. There was an attempt to make skull caps cool…and not just for the Harley crowd.

I remember the first bicycle helmet I owned. It was actually a moped helmet, which I fished out of a garage sale freebie box. It had a leather lining, a plexiglass snap-on face shield and like a construction hard hat, made the wearer several inches taller because of the huge bulbous headroom. (I actually found a photo of the model I owned...at right) I didn’t like the white and black austerity it offered, so I removed the visor, taped off the snaps, reflectors and rubber, and spray painted it—of all colors—light blue. This was certainly the 80’s. I was trying desperately to make a cool helmet to protect my melon. For me, a daily commuter in Vancouver traffic at the time, it just made sense.

Within a few years, a myriad of entrepreneurs were creating helmets that quickly put my converted helmet to shame. These new helmets were lightweight, vented, fancifully painted and moulded, with simple chin straps, and NOT nearly so ugly.

In a social marketing wonder study, within a decade, wearing a bicycle helmet became cool. Every bike shop and outdoor store was selling a variety of styles catering to every type of cyclist: BMX and trick riders, mountain bikers, racers, commuters and recreational family riders. Peer pressure changed almost overnight from promoting wind-in-the-hair freedom to promoting chic caution.

Even the curb-hopping, time-is-money bike couriers wore helmets.

Sure, laws were passed in may jurisdictions that reinforced a requirement to wear a helmet when cycling, but my observation is that the change in cycling attire was less driven by the application of municipal authority and more by style. Maybe it was even driven by common sense. For whatever reason, everyone wore a helmet without complaint. Some, like me, even wore it with pride. When I showed up at work in bike gear with my helmet under my arm, I was broadcasting my own personal environmentally responsible statement that I did not drive. The truth is, I felt “naked” if I ventured out without a helmet.

But things have changed. In the last several years I’ve noticed riders of all ages are shedding their helmets. All that great work to bring about a positive change in behavior is being lost. As a social marketer, I see this loss as a failure. It is remarkably difficult to convince large numbers of people to adopt a new behavior. When everyone embraces the new behavior as being normal, it is mystifying to have those old habits recur. It is social recidivism.

At a personal level I fret when I see a high school student riding carefree without a helmet, while lost in the musical world of their MP3 to boot! It seems unnecessarily dangerous. I am even more distraught, however, when I see 40-somethings like me riding without a helmet. This is like evolutionary regression, a reincarnation of our teenage tendency to flaunt death and danger. I’m quite sure that soon we’ll all take up skateboarding and hang gliding to complete our youthful revival.

Hopefully we won’t fall on our heads in the process.