Surprising not to see many helmets on those progressive Dutch heads. Does the pro-cycling climate there include an enviably low accident rate?

rfr,
Safe bicycle infrastructure that limits the number of conflicts with vehicles helps lower the crash rate. Time and time again, studies have shown that an increase in the number of cyclists on the road, and the resulting increased awareness/priority for cyclists among drivers is a far superior ameliorative than helmets.

Tangent: 70 of NYC ped injuries involve the head. According to helmet logic, peds should cross the street with something strapped to their domes.

Engineering for illegal and bad behavior is the only serious solution.

well put en,

maybe the last video, ending "bikers live longer" could add "more bikers live even longer"

a sign of dutch biking safety...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Lc943I7ag

I love these ads. And it proves that you don't need to understand what they are saying. The meaning is clear. Mind you, I always mute the sound on my tv when the ads come on.

And the Saddam ad was topical at the time it was released (he was in jail awaiting trial) and the tag line was translated

Just don't follow the example of the lad goofing around on his bike in the traffic jam. Here the principle of many drivers is "you toucha my car, I smasha you face!"

These were fun to watch and made me nostalgic for the civilized biking conditions in Groningen, NL, where I lived for 6 months last year and visited umpteen times in the last 11 years.

Let me add my 2 cents to the helmet issue. I know it's hard for most of us to imagine, but bicycle commuting in Holland is just as normal as walking. Plus, people tend to go pretty slowly on those heavy Dutch bikes. When people go fitness riding on racing bikes, they often do sport a helmet.

One thing I noticed from visiting Holland for many years is even though bicycle communiting in towns is still as customary as ever (at least in Groningen) car usage seems to have increased for inter-town trips. Perhaps that's why these ads were necessary in the first place.