Why an invisible cycle helmet might be better than we think

About a year ago I wrote a piece on Homeostasis of Risk. That’s the phenomenon of risk compensation where we tend to indulge in riskier behaviours if we feel protected. So, for example, we tend to drive faster in cars with ABS or air bags.

One of the fascinating aspects of this is that we can transfer the risk to others, so we tend to give cyclists with helmets a little less room than cyclists without helmets.

But what if the helmet was invisible? Do we get the best of both worlds?

The invisible cycle helmet

http://youtu.be/_kZGTOLBvek

Image credit: Jean-Marie Hullot via fotopedia

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About the author

Tony Atkinson

I lead the ABB Consulting Operational Human Factors team. I've spent over 30 years in the process industries, working in control rooms around the world, in the fields of ergonomics, control and alarm systems, control room design and operational and cultural issues such as communications, competency and fatigue. I've been blogging on diverse topics that interest me in the widest sense of 'human factors', all of which share the same common element, the 'Mk.1 Human Being' and their unique limitations, abilities and behaviours. I'll discuss the technical and organisational issues that affect safety and performance of these process safety operators and technicians and how this impacts control rooms and the wider plant. However learning comes from many places and you can expect entries about aviation, automotive, marine, healthcare, military and many other fields. Outside of work, I indulge in travel, food, wine and flying kites to keep myself moderately sane. Please feel free to post your comments on each post. Blog entries are posted with no set frequency. To ensure you don't miss out on the latest blog post, click the button below to subscribe to email alerts when a new blog has been posted.
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