Sorry if this isn't the right place for this question, but is there anything to suggest that wearing a helmet reduces the perception of the cyclist being an individual person? I suppose I'm thinking along the lines of the military, when as peace keeping forces they keep the body armour and helmets to a minimum and only when necessary, preferring the soft capped human face, so people see "Friendly Fred the bloke" rather than "hostile soldier". Cyclists with dark glasses, helmet and lycra are quite easy for most people to disassociate from. To differing degrees the thinking could be, "They're not like me, I'm a person, ergo, they're not people", which would lead to less caring attitude when we meet? Just a theory, could be bollocks.
