To helmet, or not to helmet

One of the culture shocks I experienced after moving from Australia to Japan was seeing people cycle without helmets. In Australia, wearing a bicycle helmet is mandatory, so it's something I'd never really thought twice about.

However, after more than a decade in Japan, I've definitely fallen into the "do as the Romans do" approach. I usually cycle without a helmet here, partly because it's so normal to see everyone else doing the same. It feels strange to be the only person riding around in a helmet.

A new survey from the National Police Agency has given me a bit of a reality check, though. Helmet use in Niigata Prefecture rose to 13% this year, but that's still well below the national average of 24.4%. Niigata ranked 38th among Japan's 47 prefectures, so we're not really setting a good example out here.

The numbers really do serve as an important reminder of why helmets matter. Of the 28 people killed in bicycle accidents in Niigata over the five years through last year, more than 80% weren't wearing helmets, and many suffered fatal head injuries.

Helmets are recommended rather than mandatory in Japan, so I suspect I'll continue seeing plenty of bare-headed cyclists around me. But after seeing these figures, I'm also thinking that perhaps I shouldn't be quite so committed to doing as the Romans do.