Passengers would in fact have a lower chance of injury in a car crash if they were wearing helmets.

So why don’t they? Because helmets are expensive, uncomfortable, and—worst of all—totally uncool.

One reason this video is focused on advertising is because that helps set the baseline for social acceptance of things like PFDs and sober paddling. If every single person I see in a kayak ad is wearing a PFD, it will seem less weird to wear a PFD when I go kayaking.