Ben Knowles on Risk Compensation in Cycling

Why would a bicycle delivery company ban its riders from wearing helmets? Depending on where you're reading this, you'll either think it's normal — hello, for example, to my Netherland's based listeners 🇳🇱 — or irresponsible. On this episode, I'm speaking to Ben Knowles, the CEO of PedalMe who is the man behind the company that made that decision.

I'd heard of PedalMe, but not their policy. That changed, when they posted a thread on Social Media explaining the rationale behind it. Not only did they say why, but they posted details fo their risk management framework. It contained some fascinating insights and ideas.

I wrote a LinkedIn blog on the subject, that sparked a lot of interest. You can read that — and watch a clip of Ben on a UK TV show discussing the subject — and see the debate it sparked here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/humanrisk_ethics-compliance-behaviouralscience-activity-6897141777678041088-CKwL

Given the level of interest, I thought I'd ask Ben onto the show and he agreed. So, in this special episode — special because I'm getting it out between teh normal schedule to encourage further discussion — I talk to Ben. We explore:
- how Ben got into cycling & promoting cycling
- where the idea for PedalMe came from and how they think about risk
- why banning helmets is part of their attempt to reduce risk compensation
- how they incentivise staff to report incidents
- their leadership model

and a whole lot more.

To learn more about Pedal Me visit https://pedalme.co.uk/

You'll find them on social media:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pedalmeapp/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/pedalmeapp

To find Ben:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-knowles-49137748/