The bike riders of Denmark — once stubbornly helmet-free — have changed their minds and are more and more likely to grab a helmet as they head off each day.
Since 2004, when only six per cent of riders chose to wear a helmet, numbers have climbed continuously until in 2022 it had reached 50 per cent.
For school students, who are counted separately in Denmark, usage over the same time-period has gone up from 33 per cent to 79 percent.
Women and girls are slightly more inclined to wear helmets than males.
The figures are reported in a study from the Danish Road Safety Council.
Many cycling advocates in Denmark have strongly opposed any moves to make helmets compulsory in the nation as they feared it would result in a catastrophic drop in the number of people riding bikes.
But governments and health and safety institutions have continued to mount widespread safety education and behaviour change campaigns in favour of helmets.
Most scientific appraisals document that the use of bicycle helmet reduces the risk of serious head injuries by 60 per cent, and fatal head injuries by 71 per cent.
The study suggests there is now a lack of anti-helmet voices in Denmark and that a consensus has emerged around the effectiveness of helmets and the importance of bike rider safety.
Along with the move to helmets, the Danes are becoming generally more safety conscious on the roads, with less speeding, drink driving, and more use of seat belts.
It is also speculated that helmet use has become self-reinforcing and more “normal”. Riders no long fear that they stand-out because they wear a helmet.
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