Wearing a bike helmet might make you more dangerous

Wearing safety equipment boosts appetite for danger, even in unrelated activities, a study has found

Perhaps safety helmets should carry a health warning. Wearing them, it appears, encourages dangerous risk-taking. In an extraordinary study, Dr Tim Gamble and Dr Ian Walker, from the University of Bath's department of psychology, have shown that wearing a helmet is likely to increase sensation-seeking and make people less safe - even in situations where headgear is not required.

The academics believe that their findings, published in the journal Psychological Science, call into question the effectiveness of safety advice, notably about the wearing of helmets for leisure activities such as cycling. But they also suggest that their conclusions help shed light on far wider issues, such as decision-making in conflict zones.

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