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But I'd argue that in those cases most people do take a risk aversion strategy that is comparable with wearing a helmet.
Wearing a seatbelt in a car/government regulations enforcing the installation of airbags for example. Not climbing the ladder in high winds.
If someone doesn't chose to wear a seat belt, surely they're being an idiot right? You do see articles highlighting the importance of wearing a seatbelt.
Most news outlets are very unfair towards cyclists, but to see this as a case against taking precautions is an odd way of looking at the world. Fortunately wearing a helmet isn't enforceable, and gives you a choice. Arguably using this choice to communicate that you value your own safety negates the voices that call cycling reckless.
Then the first response to a head injury in an car-on-cyclist traffic accident becomes: "holy shit we should make the road safer for cyclists" rather than "he wasn't even wearing a helmet."
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draughts
@skydancer
In saying that head injuries have various causes, (seems falling down stairs is a major cause), that shit happens occasionally
yet in most other circumstances where people have such an incident in daily life, others don't victim-blame them for not wearing personal protective equipment.
You don't get newspapers reporting:
"Man fell off a ladder while adjusting a TV Arial, he was/wasn't wearing a helmet"
"Car passenger died of head injuries when her head hit the windscreen*, she wasn't wearing head protection"
*This is often a cause of car deaths according to a paramedic I know