The Peltzman Effect - The Good and The Bad

Each year there is a bicycle safety rally held here in Mankato.  Festivities include a bicycle obstacle course as well as other activities, and folks can buy discounted helmets.  If the past is a good indication, the helmets will be of standard quality - nothing very fancy.  But what do you expect to get for a bike helmet that costs less than $10? 

Absent will be a discussion about the Peltzman Effect.  For those unfamiliar with the Peltzman effect, Sam Peltzman taught us that when people take safety precautions such as wearing seat belts and bicycle helmets, they take more risks.  Absent as well will be a discussion about evidence that shows that drivers are less careful around cyclists with helmets.  The policy implication is that mandating the use of safety equipment will be self-defeating, at least in part.

The Peltzman effect can be used positively, though.  One of my goals this summer is to learn how to rollerblade.  I have never skateboarded, roller-skated, skied, or done any such activity - until now.  But there are other things I like to do, and I don't want to get myself all smashed up in the process of learning a new skill.  Since I play guitar, I bought wrist guards.  Since I sometimes use my head for useful stuff, I bought a helmet.  Since I sustained a severe knee injury 8 years ago which left my right knee sore, stiff, and tender, I bought knee guards.  But since I'm just learning to rollerblade, the added padding allows me to take more risks while I learn.  Maybe by the end of the weekend I'll have learned to propel myself for a distance longer than 15 feet (the width of my driveway).

Comments

[Grays on Trays]

I don't doubt that Peltzman effect exists. But I wonder if another, different logic is also at work. I don't have a name for it, but here's how it works.

I teach snowboarding, and I highly encourage the use of all the safety gear that a person is comfortable using.

A HELMET won't do you any good if you slam into a tree head-first at 35 m.p.h., but it may prevent a concussion when you're on the bunny hill, going at low speeds.

WRIST GUARDS can help prevent the most common injuries (fractures, sprains) to novice and beginning snowboarders.

BUTT PADS (or even bubble wrap) will make those occasional falls on your behind not so jarring.

KNEE PADS are useful for when you get tired and need to drop to your knees for a rest. (For various reasons, it's hard for even experienced snowboarders to stand still on a board).

So what does this have to do with your blog entry and the Peltzman effect? Plenty.

Ride a bike or motorcycle, and you'll find that it's hard to make a corner and stand upright if you're going very, very slowly.

You might think, on a snowboard, that the thing that a novice needs to do is to go very slowly, and on very flat ground.

Wrong! Both situations dispose a novice to the nasty experience that we call "catching an edge," which results in either a "butt plant" or a "face plant," a slam to the ground.

So how to avoid catching an edge AND deal with the fear of going too fast? That's where the protective gear comes in. It just may give the snowboarder the extra confidence required to travel a little bit faster, on a little steeper terrain, and thus enter a situation wherein the probability of catching an edge is REDUCED.

I probably have not explained this as well as I should have, but the phenomenon is real. I've lived it. Gear that in one situation might lead to excessive risk taking can lead to "risk taking" that is actually more prudent than the alternative.

Is there a name for that phenomenon?

[Phil]

Very interesting comment. I don't know of a name.

[Andy]

I agree with both comments. I do not wear a helmet for my bike as I do think that it almost creates a placebo effect (probably wrong word use) that means pschologically you are ready to take the hit (with a helmet) where you wouldn't normally do so (without one). Hence, you probably could do more damage by wearing one as you are more likely to have an accident. Falling off a bike with a helmet on is obviously going to hurt a lot more than not falling off without one.

On the other side, I played rugby for 15 years and one thing you learn (and get taught religiously) is that if you go into a tackle scared, you run the risk of injuring yourself much more than if you tackled aggressively. Any protection (real or perceived), gives you that extra confidence to jump into the situation and more often than not come out better. I can back this idea wholeheartedly having experience doing both.

However, I can combine these two theories perfectly as of last week. I was cycling down very steep terrain and ended up falling off my bike. I broke my foot (not my head luckily!) This happened because I am getting on a bit now and definitely have more fear and I chickened out at the last minute and subconciously put my foot out to stop myself. I would not have done this had I not been afraid. What is more, I probably would not have been as afraid if I was wearing protective gear - a helmet would have helped I think - even though this was not the part that got hurt.

Go figure!

PS. Foot is healing nicely, thank you