Should The Use Of Bicycle Helmets Be Made A Legal Requirement In The UK?
Posted by: George J on 20 April 2014
Should The Use Of Bicycle Helmets When Riding a Bike Be Made A Legal Requirement In The UK?
Please discuss, and give a brief reason for your opinion.
I have a firm view on this, which some may already have picked up from posts earlier today, but I think it is a subject worthy of a deeper probe than as a diversion on another thread.
ATB from George
Winky,
Today I saw something quite disturbing. A mother was cycling on a busy road, wearing a helmet, with a child who was less than a year old sat in a basket on the front of the bike with no restraint or helmet. Now I feel that the choice of wearing a helmet should be down to the cyclist but there should be some sort of rule regarding the transport of very young children in that manner.
Steve
I also saw something disturbing today. A mother strapped her helpless infant into a steel cage and then piloted it along a strip of bitumen at a high speed and in complete disregard of the legislated speed limit. She then rolled through numerous stop signs designed to prevent accidents. She did this whilst distracted by drinking coffee, checking make-up, telephone calls and texts; and by her habit of staring at her child in the rear view mirror - just to "check that they were OK".
All the more disturbing was that the route was absolutely infested with other steel cagers, also playing fast and loose with the law, about whom she knew nothing. She didn't know if they were drunk, drugged, talking on their phones, had working brakes or in any way gave two hoots about her infant's safety. She chose to expose her child to these risks in spite of being well aware that similar behaviour kills and maims millions of people worldwide every year.
What the hell was she thinking?
In other news, a cyclist without a helmet also rolled through a stop sign placing no-one but themselves in danger.
A typical hypocritical knee jerk response from someone who probably uses road transport as much, or more than the next person, with the job you have.
I wasn't defending car use but it's a fact of life. Get over it. Life is about calculated risk. I'd be more concerned about the woman on the bike with the baby losing control because of the many potholes on our roads than being hit by a car. I guess if she did fall due to a pothole and was then hit by a car or lorry it would be motorist's fault, in your eyes, for just being there at the wrong time. 
It's everyone's duty, be it a motorist or cyclist, to use the roads in a responsible manner.
I couldn't agree more Char, and mind the damage your bicycle does to the countryside. It's becoming a big problem and I can see being hung, drawn and quartered being the only suitable punishment. 
Winky,
Today I saw something quite disturbing. A mother was cycling on a busy road, wearing a helmet, with a child who was less than a year old sat in a basket on the front of the bike with no restraint or helmet. Now I feel that the choice of wearing a helmet should be down to the cyclist but there should be some sort of rule regarding the transport of very young children in that manner.
Steve
I also saw something disturbing today. A mother strapped her helpless infant into a steel cage and then piloted it along a strip of bitumen at a high speed and in complete disregard of the legislated speed limit. She then rolled through numerous stop signs designed to prevent accidents. She did this whilst distracted by drinking coffee, checking make-up, telephone calls and texts; and by her habit of staring at her child in the rear view mirror - just to "check that they were OK".
All the more disturbing was that the route was absolutely infested with other steel cagers, also playing fast and loose with the law, about whom she knew nothing. She didn't know if they were drunk, drugged, talking on their phones, had working brakes or in any way gave two hoots about her infant's safety. She chose to expose her child to these risks in spite of being well aware that similar behaviour kills and maims millions of people worldwide every year.
What the hell was she thinking?
In other news, a cyclist without a helmet also rolled through a stop sign placing no-one but themselves in danger.
A typical hypocritical knee jerk response from someone who probably uses road transport as much, or more than the next person, with the job you have.
I wasn't defending car use but it's a fact of life. Get over it. Life is about calculated risk. I'd be more concerned about the woman on the bike with the baby losing control because of the many potholes on our roads than being hit by a car. I guess if she did fall due to a pothole and was then hit by a car or lorry it would be motorist's fault, in your eyes, for just being there at the wrong time.
It's everyone's duty, be it a motorist or cyclist, to use the roads in a responsible manner.
Potholes aren't the hazard. But if a car was following or passing too closely such that the woman was struck due to her encountering a pothole (crashing, riding around it), then I'd say that it was absolutely the motorists' fault. The main issue I have is that motorists appear completely unaware of the hazard they present to other road users, and are unwilling to accept the responsibility that goes with controlling that hazard. They just want/expect everyone else to stay the f%$# out of their way.
Yeah life requires risk, but "calculated"? You give everyone too much credit. We are terrible at assessing risk, let alone calculating it. You seem to think that the infant without a helmet was exposed to unude risk. Perhaps. All I did was try to point out that there is risk in the use of motor vehicles as well.
My personal car usuage is actually pretty low with zero driving on most days.