The Case For Compulsory Helmets
This video via Imagine No Cars :
Bicycles For Kids And Those Who Haven’t Grow Up
The trouble would be trying to frame the legislation to take account of these sorts of antics. It would have to be something like…
All cyclists must wear an approved helmet if attempting crazy manoeuvres / jumps / stunts. This is especially true if it is the cyclist’s first time on a bike, and their father is likely to fall on top of them.
In the majority of cases, cyclists would obtain the maximum benefit from wearing the helmet inside their underpants, as it seems to be this region that comes into contact at speed with the frame / handlebars of the bicycle when attempting said craziness.
People riding bikes in a manner that would normally be seen outside a circus are exempt from this regulation.
What do you think? I put that second paragraph in because when I was nine years old, I was rushing home (late again) and rode my bike straight into a locked garden gate. I slid forward off the saddle and felt the full impact of the top of a quill stem on the tenderer parts of my body. If I’d had the foresight to wear a helmet, perhaps I wouldn’t have experienced this pain.
I wrote to my MP (Norman Baker) on the subject of compulsory helmets, he would love it to be introduced, but the governments stand is if you make it compulsory it will deter people from taking up cycling
That would be my stand too - that if helmets really were made compulsory, we’d see a significant drop in cycling. That would be a Bad Thing.
Or we could go down the Spanish route. Helmets there are compulsory except in built-up areas, or up hills, or if it’s hot. I’m not joking.
I’m against compulsory helmet wearing - it should be a matter of personal choice, like wearing gloves or rainproof trousers or bondage gear - but I’d be prepared to envisage it if cycling was also made compulsory.
Surely a helmet is a form of bondage gear?
The experience from Australia and other places shows that reducing the number of cyclists would be the only effect of compulsion. For whatever reason they simply do not reduce the rate of death and serious injury among those still cycling. The effect on both public health and cyclist safety would be negative.