You&#x27;ve grown up in what is probably the best place in the world to ride a bike, which makes your experience enviable but not typical. Here in the car-dominated USA it&#x27;s a lot more dangerous to ride a bike because we&#x27;re &quot;sharing&quot; the streets with fast cars that are sometimes inattentive or even aggressive. Plus, the maintenance of the streets themselves sometimes conspire against you, it&#x27;s easy to lose control on a pothole or slick crosswalk marking. I have had a couple of falls where my head whacked the pavement, and was very glad I was wearing a helmet.<p>Edit: This video says you&#x27;re 30 times more likely to be involved in an accident in the US than in the Netherlands: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=m2THe_10dYs" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=m2THe_10dYs</a>