The disclaimer at the beginning of the article, and the tone of the article itself, reveal how religious — as opposed to evidence-based — the helmet issue is. People who advocate them firmly believe themselves to be on the side of righteousness, no matter what the numbers might say.

I'm reminded of suburbanites who think that safety is assured by keeping pedestrians out of their neighbourhoods, when it fact it's the exact opposite: every pedestrian is another set of eyes that criminals don't want to be seen by. But facts and figured can't persuade when emotion rules.