As a frequent mountain biker, I can attest that wearing additional safety gear results in me taking more risks. I ride downhill faster, I take corners more aggressively, I take more jumps and I am less cautious over dangerous terrain. When wearing only shorts, a jersey, and a standard helmet, without pads or a full-face helmet, I ride subdued.

Some of this difference is due to the innate and insidious sense of invulnerability with protective gear. It comes naturally even the first time you don it. It's a common source of accidents and something that must be trained out of you.

Being able to get back up unscathed from bad falls also reinforces your future confidence, or lack thereof, which I can also attest from having fallen many times both with and without protective gear.

I'd still never ride without (at least) a standard helmet. If helmets do factually cause more accidents, which is plausible for the reasons I just mentioned, I'd support making helmets mandatory for employees through legislation. It doesn't matter if the numbers support the opposite conclusion: maximizing individual safety in the eventuality of a crash is paramount. If you have ever had a head impact while wearing a helmet, you will understand why.