Chris Boardman's take on helmets

[Milkfloat]

As ever, he comes across as eminently sensible. I think an awful lot of us can put our hands up and say "I know in my heart of hearts that the helmet is pointless, but I wear it anyway".

If only it were pointless, it would make the decision simple - at times it is pointless, at times it is even more dangerous, but at other times it is good to be wearing one.

 

[psmiffy]

I think an awful lot of us can put our hands up and say "I know in my heart of hearts that the helmet is pointless, but I wear it anyway".

I think that is insulting peoples intelligence - I think most people know that in a car versus cyclist incident then helmets are likely to be ineffective

 

[srw]

Oh this makes me sad. I went on a group ride last week where, once again, I got unsolicited comments about the fact that I wasn't wearing a helmet. One young woman actually listened to what I said in reply, rather than getting annoyed, and eventually said, 'Do you know, I'd never even considered that I could ride without a helmet. I just assumed it was what you did.' (It transpired that she was a scientist so used to evaluating evidence, hence the patient listening I think.)

It's becoming part of the uniform, which is not necessarily to cycling's advantage.

I think it's part of the uniform in rural/small town club/group rides, but not in London.

 

[srw]

I think you mean 'among London commuters'? As far as I can see it's part of the uniform for almost all club/group rides of any size, anywhere.

That's fair - although the number of club/group rides you see in central London is tiny compared with the number of people commuting.

 

[Tin Pot]

I don't think that either side of the debate can argue with what he said.

Are you new here?

 

[winjim]

Today I saw a poster for my local Breeze ride. It was a picture of five cyclists. It was remarkable for the absence of:

• Men (I know, it's a Breeze ride)
• Road bikes
• Helmets

Quite refreshing I thought, but a shame that it stood out to me for exactly those reasons.

 

[Venod]

I was negotiating a tight bend today a car was coming the other way the car behind decided he wasn't waiting till after the bend and squeezed past,I was lucky to stay upright, I shook my head in disgust at the bad manoeuvre, the guy stopped at a shop just round the corner, he asked me what my problem was, I said you nearly knocked me off you could have waited till after the bend with no approaching traffic, he said I wish I had of knocked you off, he was a bit of an arrogant twat, he got out of the car but I didn't flinch so I think he thought better of it, he said you should be wearing a helmet, I said what's that got to do with your bad driving, he said your supposed to wear a helmet when cycling aren't you I said no, at this point he went into the shop mumbling.

I set off a bit worried that he might be going my way and use his car as a weapon, he did pass me at an exaggerated speed but not close. what chance do we have with such arrogant motorist who think the road is just for them.

 

[ufkacbln]

I was negotiating a tight bend today a car was coming the other way the car behind decided he wasn't waiting till after the bend and squeezed past,I was lucky to stay upright, I shook my head in disgust at the bad manoeuvre, the guy stopped at a shop just round the corner, he asked me what my problem was, I said you nearly knocked me off you could have waited till after the bend with no approaching traffic, he said I wish I had of knocked you off, he was a bit of an arrogant twat, he got out of the car but I didn't flinch so I think he thought better of it, he said you should be wearing a helmet, I said what's that got to do with your bad driving, he said your supposed to wear a helmet when cycling aren't you I said no, at this point he went into the shop mumbling.

I set off a bit worried that he might be going my way and use his car as a weapon, he did pass me at an exaggerated speed but not close. what chance do we have with such arrogant motorist who think the road is just for them.

Of course if you had a helmet...
You could have mounted a helmet cam
Then you could have videoed the muppet
Then you could have put it on YouTube
Then it could have gone viral and been in the national press showing the muppet to be .... a muppet

 

[david k]

I was negotiating a tight bend today a car was coming the other way the car behind decided he wasn't waiting till after the bend and squeezed past,I was lucky to stay upright, I shook my head in disgust at the bad manoeuvre, the guy stopped at a shop just round the corner, he asked me what my problem was, I said you nearly knocked me off you could have waited till after the bend with no approaching traffic, he said I wish I had of knocked you off, he was a bit of an arrogant twat, he got out of the car but I didn't flinch so I think he thought better of it, he said you should be wearing a helmet, I said what's that got to do with your bad driving, he said your supposed to wear a helmet when cycling aren't you I said no, at this point he went into the shop mumbling.

I set off a bit worried that he might be going my way and use his car as a weapon, he did pass me at an exaggerated speed but not close. what chance do we have with such arrogant motorist who think the road is just for them.

Lots of horrible people, about mate, not sure we can really solve that problem, not easily. Glad this turned out ok for you, passed without a major incident, sadly that's not always the case eh?

In Holland at the moment I find the car driving much more casual, not heard a horn yet, no rushing, car drivers are much more nderstanding, and I'm driving also not cycling, we all now they are different when cycling.

Drivers thoughts and mindset on the road is deep seated, I don't think it will ever change or how it could, I'd like it to be like Holland but our rush rush, I own the road attitude will probably not change in my lifetime, it seems it's the English way?

 

[Dan B]

Look at some pictures of Holland in the 1970s - it changed there in someone's lifetime

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Drivers thoughts and mindset on the road is deep seated, I don't think it will ever change or how it could, I'd like it to be like Holland but our rush rush, I own the road attitude will probably not change in my lifetime, it seems it's the English way?

It can change, it just needs the will of the people doing the educating and testing to change it. Look at the different attitudes towards drunk driving, or wearing a seatbelt. It's a tougher one because a lot of people don't seem to see the point in driving in a way that causes other road users less danger but I don't think it's fair to right it off 'cause we're just like that'.

 

[david k]

It can change, it just needs the will of the people doing the educating and testing to change it. Look at the different attitudes towards drunk driving, or wearing a seatbelt. It's a tougher one because a lot of people don't seem to see the point in driving in a way that causes other road users less danger but I don't think it's fair to right it off 'cause we're just like that'.

Your right of course, it's just that it is deep seated, I'm not just on about drivers to cyclists but all road users, car drivers to car drivers etc.etc. it's difficult to change culture, it can be done but wouldn't be easy, my expectations are low, I would love to be proved wrong

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Your right of course, it's just that it is deep seated, I'm not just on about drivers to cyclists but all road users, car drivers to car drivers etc.etc. it's difficult to change culture, it can be done but wouldn't be easy, my expectations are low, I would love to be proved wrong

The various driving tests are being changed and talking to people who've been through the car one in the last 5 years there is a lot more in it and it's only getting better. The problem is without retesting people will learn bad habits (and there are plenty of road users around to teach them them) so it will take a very long time to filter out the people who've been taught (or self taught so to speak) poorly. To be honest, my belief is that self driving cars will come around faster than the pool of drivers will refresh sufficiently and that's our best bet for good road etiquette. Unfortunately I also think self driving cars may see bicycles segregated off of/banned from the roads.

 

[srw]

Unfortunately I also think self driving cars may see bicycles segregated off of/banned from the roads.

Unlikely, unless you're also going to ban people walking and wild animals from the roads. I think self-driving cars will encourage more people to ride - but there's another 20 years until they're even vaguely common.

 

[totallyfixed]

Just back from touring the Netherlands and Belgium, on the ship coming back we met a German couple who had bought helmets because they thought everyone wore one in the UK. They were quite apprehensive about riding on our roads so we rode with them for the first few miles on the A120 before turning on to a quiet B road.
All very depressing, but at least he didn't wear his.
One other interesting point to note, in Belgium all the cyclists riding a drop handlebar bike wore helmets and those with straight bars didn't, even when riding together, hilarious.