The following appeared in a health newsletter.

A ten-year nationwide study of the effectiveness of wearing a helmet while bicycling indicates that ten years ago, approximately 35 percent of all bicyclists reported wearing helmets, whereas today that number is nearly 80 percent. Another study, however, suggests that during the same ten-year period, the number of accidents caused by bicycling has increased 200 percent. These results demonstrate that bicyclists feel safer because they are wearing helmets, and they take more risks as a result. Thus there is clearly a call for the government to strive to reduce the number of serious injuries from bicycle accidents by launching an education program that concentrates on the factors other than helmet use that are necessary for bicycle safety.

The notion that launching an education program that concentrates on the factors other than helmet use to reduce bicycle accidents seems to be plausible at first glance. However, with further scrutiny, the argument misses the evidence to evaluate the position mentioned by the author, and we will discuss it below.

First of all, the argument states a ten-year nationwide study of the effectiveness of wearing a helmet while bicycling to claim that there is a proportional increase in wearing the helmet and the number of accidents. However, we do not know how this nationwide study conducts and who responds to the study. For example, if the responders who are mostly from young ages, who are more impetuous when riding the bicycle, the study will not be sufficient enough to represent all bicyclists. Therefore, before the author provides information about the study, the argument is not compelling.

Even if the study from the last ten years is feasible and tenable, we cannot neglect the environmental factors during this long period. For instance, when the population in a nation has drastically increased in the last ten years, there will be reasonably more people driving vehicles and riding bicycles. In this situation, it will be more crowded than in previous years, and it is more easily to cause accidents to happen. Hence, although the study may be trustable, we still lack the data of the other factors about the whole environment.

Finally, the author also claims that the increase in helmet wearing rate and the accident rate is all because of those bicyclists feel safer than before and decrease the sense of vigilance. Nonetheless, the author does not mention the important factor of the national policy for bicyclists and the construction for bicycling. For example, if in the past ten years, the environment for bicycling is gradually detrimental to bicyclists because of poor road design, which lets bicyclists ride on an inimical road. There will be no efficacy for governments to conduct an education program. After all, people will keep injuring, although bicyclists concern and have a sense of other potential factors of causing accidents. Consequently, the author should also provide the track of history about the bicycle policy and construction in the last ten years to strengthen the argument.

To sum up, the argument is rife with holes and uncompelling. To support the argument, I suggest the author should provide more information about the nationwide study of the last ten years, the population number increase, and the policy implementation and construction for bicyclists. Therefore, until the author gives out specific evidence, the argument is untenable.

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