The high cost of helmets

A new study by mathematician Piet de Jong of Macquarie University shows that mandatory helmet laws are responsible for substantial extra costs on health care systems. If other countries followed the Australian lead and made helmets compulsory, the costs would be substantial. It "would cost the US $4.8 billion per year, Netherlands $1.9 billion, and the U.K $0.4 billion."
The costs come about because helmets discourage cycling and the health benefits of cycling are thereby reduced. This translates into increased hospital costs due to heart disease.
The additional costs due to poor health far outweigh the costs of accidents that are due to not wearing helmets.
Video: Free helmets and hugs... instead of separated cycle paths. via Metafilter