Wearing a Bike Helmet May Invite Disaster

In Geezer’s universe, no sane cyclist would even think about pedaling beyond his driveway without slapping on a helmet. So Geezer was distressed to read, in the New York Times, that slapping on a helmet is like slapping on a sign that says: "My head is safely encased in plastic at the moment, so feel free to drive as close to me as you possibly can."
Yes, it’s true. The Times reports on a study conducted at the University of Bath that looked at how closely cars drove to bicycles they passed on the road. The intrepid researcher, the paper reports, used a bicycle fitted with a well-concealed video camera and
ultrasonic sensor, and measured his distance from cars as they passed by
his bicycle. He rode with and without a helmet, and with and without a
wig that made him look like a woman. He covered 200 miles at various
times of day and made more than 2,500 observations.
The research revealed that cars consistently passed closer to the researcher when he was wearing a helmet
than when he was bareheaded, that trucks passed closer than cars, and
that drivers passed closer to him without the wig than when they
thought he was a woman.
Read more in the New York Times.