Should The Use Of Bicycle Helmets Be Made A Legal Requirement In The UK?

There probably should be a law making the wearing of helmets compulsory.  There's generally only one winner when head meets tarmac. 

Saying that, a helmet wouldn't have helped in the humongous crash I had as a teenager when flying down a hill.  The metal front mudguard rattled loose (old school delivery bike), jammed the front wheel and the bike flipped right over, face planting me into the road still 'sat' on the bloody bike!

Unless they make full face helmets, your run of the mill bike helmet would have been useless there.

Today's bike riders really need some education about road use though.  You should see them flying about in my town, both sides of the road, u-turns, flying out of junctions.  You'd think they had a death wish.

Why should it be compulsory - just because you survived?

It's a noble goal.  But I just don't think people are sitting around saying:  "For $50 I just cannot buy a bike helmet for my kid.  Now if it was $46, I would rush out and buy one"

I live in Chicago.  I like to sit out on my front porch.  Or, if you were from Philadelphia, my stoop.  I would often see a young lady from up the street, about 14, cruise by on her bike, with her 2 year old kid on her lap, neither with a helmet, and she would be talking on her cell phone with one hand.

What can you do about this?  I don't think lowering the cost of helmets is the answer.  I considered the obvious, but felt it would do more harm than good to open my big mouth   

Because others have died or been seriously injured.  Why is it compulsory in races?  Must be a reason based on some kind of evidence.

Seat belts don't save everyone, should they therefore not be compulsory?  Strange logic.

The main reason it became compulsory in racing is organiser liability.

Any cycle racing on a public highway needs to be officially requested to the area Council and police for permission, and there are terms and conditions which need to meet approval, the main ones being safety of the public, the race officials and marshals, and also the competitors.

It’s also understandable that the highly competitive nature of racing can be faster and more risky than non racing.

Debs

I think there are actually three issues:  Is it a good idea?  Should there be a law?  And finally, what kind of example should older, more experienced bicyclists be setting for younger riders?

I have heard the argument from motorcyclists that full face helmets restrict their view and hearing, and as a result, they make riding more dangerous. But I have never heard a reasonable argument against wearing some form of head protection, from either motorcyclists or bicyclists.  IMO, to think of it as a matter of personal freedom or as a personal choice is incredibly selfish. Next time you are among friends or family, look around the room and think about who would be missed...and who would miss you after a fatal, yet preventable accident. Would you seriously wish that on anyone you know?

I don't think there should be a law.  I think that helmet wearing should make such obvious and complete sense to everyone that the need for a law seems utterly redundant and unnecessary.  Otherwise, we would need a law prohibiting every stupid, self-destructive choice any human being could ever make. Should there be a law against removing a hot dish from an oven without wearing hand protection?

Lastly, even if you choose to act in a self-centered, self-destructive way in private, is it really too much to ask that you try to set a positive example in public for the next generation?  Some may argue that's entirely up to the parents, and has nothing to do with them. I would cite that as yet another example of self-centered, short-sighted behavior. Yes, parents are role models, but they are never the only ones. IMO, the day when young kids point at riders not wearing helmets and laugh at their insanity is the same day we can stop worrying about what impression we are leaving on them. 

ATB.

Hook

So they wear them for safety.  The speed could be an issue but the way you fall could too and you don't need to be going fast to do some serious damage to the noggin.  Races tend to be conducted without traffic flying around so your Sunday cyclist has other risks to take into account that racers may not.

Those guys in the youtube video should be tracked down and prosecuted.

http://www.theguardian.com/env...lm-jumping-red-light

or:

Everytime a "cyclist", and i use the word loosely, crosses a red light!

...and yes, I do wear head gear at all times!

I don't think cycle helmets should be compulsory, nor motorcycle helmets, nor seatbelts. I always use them myself, though.

Machine guns shouldn't be illegal either.

I agree except that I don't always use them myself!

Try using seat-belts on a bus without them!

ATB from George

Jota,

i agree with you that cycle racers are obliged to wear helmets for safety reasons, and as such it’s a good idea for any cyclist to wear a helmet for protection.

It’s also compulsory for racing car drivers to wear crash helmets, and you don't need to be going fast to do some serious damage to the noggin, so perhaps it would be a good idea to make crash helmets compulsory for all car drivers : )

Debs

i usually do Debs specially when driving at 130 mph on a 20 mph zone in north London.

Maybe you had an experience of relativity, Tony : )

How do you know you’re weren’t standing still while the world beneath your car moved a lot faster at that moment in time?

Debs

I probably did, Debs. Mind you,  more than my humble Ridgeback Dual Track could ever have achieved.

Tony

Old ground here, unfortunately. Driving is the one thing most of us do that potentially places others in mortal danger. There is a huge responsibility that goes with that. 

I also think that compulsary speed limits are a good idea, for both cyclists and motorists

....................even on open roads at 02:00 hrs when there is virtually nobody else around and it would be (almost) perfectly safe to drive from (say) Glasgow to Bristol at say 120mph. Seems to work in Germany..........

but for some irrational reason, I think speed limits are a good idea, even though according to many on this forum we are all responsible enough to restrict ourselves to behaving sensibly...........

Same applies to crash helmets for cyclists.

Dear Don,

I had to read that twice, but second time it became clear what you are saying!

However it does seem to me that you are confusing two issues. Safety of the individual as affected by the actions of that individual, and safety of others affected by the actions of the individual. If an individual's activity has safety implications for that individual alone, then that individual has the perfectly reasonable chance to make a decision about how many precautions they want to take to make themselves somewhat safer. For the cyclist this may include using a crash helmet, for example.

If an individual wants to undertake an activity that may affect the safety of others, then quite reasonably society may regulate this activity with laws to restrict the risk to others to some degree. For example in the UK there are now many areas near schools where the speed of traffic is limit by law to 20 mph, not for the safety of motorists, but rather for the safety of school children.

It does not follow that because you support the idea of speed limits, that cyclists should be compelled to use helmets, therefore.

ATB from George

If they were not, I doubt I would want one.

.......and your views on the wearing of seatbelts in cars, which I mentioed earlier...........?

My view is that those in the back MUST wear seatbelts. For those in the front it should be a matter of personal choice.

BTW, my reference to speed limits was at 02:00 hrs ie when there are very, very few people on the roads and the person most at risk doing 120mph without a seat belt is the (idotic) person doing it. In other words, we sometimes need a law to save ourselves from harm eg motorcycle helmets.

My view on wearing seat-belts is that I started to wear them from the point I passed the test as a seventeen year old. In my view making it a legal requirement was and is a nonsense.

I am sick to the high teeth of people who think they must interfere in the choices of other when the choice is their own affair - not some paternalist government or pressure group.

ATB from George

George, I presume you carry a sticker on your forehead with words to the effect

"In the event of an accident, DO NOTressussitate or provide any medial intervention whatsoever."

I'd hope he'd spell it correctly - resuscitate. 

Dear Don,

Presuming can be such a risky business, and your presumption is not surprisingly wrong.

Would you be so kind as to explain why you think I would do such a thing? It might indicate that you think I am exceptionally stupid! I'd like to think your real reason for the suggestion is more nicely motivated than that.

ATB from George