Nanny State Alert: Maryland House of Delegates measure requires bicycle helmet use for adults...

Adults should be allowed to make their own decisions...

Via WaPo:

Their national association says you should wear one, a federal watchdog says you’re more likely to be killed without one and 21 states insist that kids use them, so it figures that most cycling advocates would salute a proposal to mandate that everyone use bike helmets in Maryland.

They don’t.

This was not a happy decision for cycling groups deeply entrenched in the karma of safety first, because they all agree that strapping your head into a plastic foam cocoon is the single best protection against going kerplunk.

But they worry that a House of Delegates measure requiring helmet use for all Maryland bicyclists would keep some people from riding at all. They also argue that there is safety in numbers, too — the more drivers see cyclists on the road, the more apt they are to be alert for them.

“It is really an awkward position and one that is difficult to explain because we are fully supportive of the use of helmets and encourage everyone who rides a bike to use one,” said Shane Farthing, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.[...]