[WS:] Indeed. I was cycling quite a bit when I lived there and never had a helmet. Nor did anyone else. In places like Copenhagen or Amsterdam, which heavily depend on bikes, you seldom see anyone wearing a helmet., or for that matter, bike gear.
My own view on the subject has two points:
1. In the US cycling is often seen as a fashion statement whereas in Europe it is just a means of getting from point A to point B. Hence the biking paraphernalia - helmets, fancy spandex clothes, expensive bikes, etc - are more prominently used in the US that they are in Europe. Of course, not everyone in the US sees cycling that way, I am just talking about statistical probability.
2. The use of safety gears, such as helmets, has an element of magic in it akin to, say, powdered tiger whiskers or rabbit feet that are supposed to keep people from harm's way. They role is to provide peace of mind, but not necessarily actual safety.
-- Wojtek
"Modern conservatism is just a neoliberal gloss on medieval domination."