When you're living life in the Netherlands it's rare to see people wear bike helmets, especially on Dutch city bicycles. In this vlog I ask cyclists on the streets why. In the second half of the video I also get people's reaction on how often they make use of their bike compared to their car.



Usually you only see Dutch people wear helmets when they're riding a road bike, a mountain bike, or a fast electric bike. But since city bikes make up the vast majority of bikes used in the Netherlands, cyclists with helmets are a relatively rare sight. Even on mtb and ebikes people often don't wear a helmet.

The advance of electric bikes has prompted a small number of older people to start wearing a helmet though, mostly since they're more vulnerable to injury and less nimble overall. The only type of bike in Holland on which wearing a helmet is mandatory is an electric speed pedelec which reaches a speed of 40km/25mph.

Overall though it's basically part of the Dutch bicycle culture to not wear a helmet. That may be a culture shock to some, but it has become part of the country's history and tradition. Bicycle first infrastructure and bike first traffic rules together with experienced riders mostly negates the need for helmets.

In addition to that, basically all Dutch people have a bike. Meaning all car drivers are also riders and know how to take other cyclist into account. People on bicycles are everywhere and Dutch car drivers are used to it.

In the above video you'll see 14 fastpaced conversations from which I curated the most interesting reactions. In 12 of them I'm speaking Dutch with subtitles in English so that American expats and other English speaking foreigners living in or moving to the Netherlands can easily follow along.

As it relates to tourism, while most tourists wonder about the best things to do in Amsterdam, there are actually many other travel destinations worth visiting. Cities such as Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven. Just to name a few. Especially when staying longer those cities are worth paying a visit, partly because the cost of living in Amsterdam is relatively high.

Some mustdo things when staying in the Netherlands are trying Dutch food such as stroopwafels, poffertjes and Dutch cheese. Joining a walking tour is also well worth as it's a great way to learn your way around a city and to get a good grasp of the different areas and their vibe.

The written article: https://culturecompass.tv/video/whyd...

00:00 Why no helmet?
03:11 Bike vs car use?
08:45 Next video

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