Why wear a helmet?

[Bikeabit]

The Northern Ireland debate on the compulsory wearing of helmets reaches its climax. Will it come here? Is it a good thing?

http://www.guardian..../mar/14/cycling

I wear mine for safety not fashion and on the basis that 'every little helps'. Even if I spend hundreds on a lock someone out there will be able to steal my bike. I still would not leave my bike unlocked. Likewise no amount of safety equipment will guarantee protection. There will always be the potential for a terminal incident but I will always wear a helmet.

For me it is not the interference of the 'nanny state' but plain common sense. Others may take a different view.

 

[4F]

Excellent, another helmet thread. (insert smiley banging his head on the desk)

If people want to wear a helmet then that is fine, however I am big enough to make my own informed decision and my decision is not to.

 

[corshamjim]

I think it would be a shame not to be able to potter down to the shops on a quiet road without a helmet, but at the same time many of our roads are dangerous so I can see the reasoning behind compulsion.

We live in a democracy. If I really felt strongly one way or the other I'd write to my MP. I really don't think it's that big a deal one way or the other though so I haven't.

Personally I always wear a helmet. Now I'm used to wearing it, it's just habit - like wearing a seatbelt.

 

[John the Monkey]

Everywhere else mass compulsion of helmet wearing has happenned, cycling levels decline rapidly, with the associated (bad) effects on population health &c.

So is it a good thing? If fewer cyclists are what you want, undoubtedly yes, on the evidence of other countries that have compelled the wearing of helmets by riders of pedal cycles. If you want to see more cyclists, or improve the general health of the nation, then no, by the same set of evidence.

As to what you or anyone else might freely choose to do, I don't mind, personally.

 

[John the Monkey]

...but at the same time many of our roads are dangerous so I can see the reasoning behind compulsion.

Our roads AREN'T DANGEROUS.

I've ridden many with similar layouts in France and Belgium, and found them perfectly pleasant.

The difference here is a culture of the car being above all, and a severe lack of understanding of the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. In fact, what we have here, are indifferent and dangerous drivers - the roads are as dangerous as they make them, for the most part.

Given that, one might almost think that it would make more sense to do something about the standard of driving, rather than compelling people to wear expanded polystyrene head coverings, and hoping that those will provide sufficient protection.

 

[mickle]

.... many of our roads are dangerous so I can see the reasoning behind compulsion.

If our roads are dangerous surely the civilised answer is to remove the danger not expect the victims of that danger to 'protect' themselves with a forty quid lump of polystyrene. 'Sorry you got shot Mrs Bloggs, but why weren't you wearing your bullet proof vest?' This mindset is driven by idea that the state of our roads is somehow an unavoidable, acceptable side effect of motorised vehicular transport. It isn't, as the Dutch model demonstrates. The only purpose of bicycle helmets is to reassure road safety experts that there is an easy fix to the problem of perilous roads because this simple, unalterable fact remains - Cycling is not dangerous. It is less dangerous than driving, walking, climbing a ladder or drinking alchohol. Compel me to wear a helmet only after you've convinced every alchoholic in the land to wear one when staggering home from the pub.

 

[mickle]

I'm too slow...

 

[mickle]

Do we need a special sub-forum for all helmet threads?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Do we need a special sub-forum for all helmet threads?

Bikeradar?

 

[fungus]

Do we need a special sub-forum for all helmet threads?

Yes called the recycle bin

 

[ohnovino]

Do we need a special sub-forum for all helmet threads?

One sticky thread would do it, with some kind of award system for every 100th page you wade through.

 

[mickle]

One sticky thread would do it, with some kind of award system for every 100th page you wade through.

 

[Crackle]

One sticky thread would do it, with some kind of award system for every 100th page you wade through.

Or every hundreth thread:

Can we identify the helmet debate posting styles.

1. Naive innoncence that anything as innocuous as a piece of polystyrene could provoke fury.
2. Helmets could save mankind as we know it
3. Helmets are the work of evil marketeers out to make money
4. Cycling head injury risk is comparable to the risk of slipping on a banana skin ergo we should ban bananas
5. None of us know what's good for us so someone else should decide and make it law
6. F£$* Se*() F**** F***** t*** Helmets!
7. I just wanted to let you all know a helmet saved my life
8. If I hadn't have been wearing one I wouldn't have been injured
9. Back in the good old days no one wore helmets and we didn't have any stupid H&S legislation either, bah humbug!

and finaly the stage I'm at

10) Helmets (said in an apathetic voice)

 

[buddha]

7. I just wanted to let you all know a helmet saved my life

Well, not quite. But it did save me having to wash pigeon sh!t from my hair

 

[threebikesmcginty]

There are only a few answers.

1 - Yes
2 - No
3 - Sometimes
4 - Used to but not now
5 - Didn't used to but do now
6 - Saved my (mate/missus/kid/some bloke down the pub) life - insert emotive evidence and/or statistics to suit
7 - Caused an injury - insert emotive evidence and/or statistics to suit
8 - I hate cyclists and I hope you all die you badly dressed gits

If we had a definitive list of answers you could just put your number in and we could get the whole thing over with a lot quicker and easier.