Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
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Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
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I thought I'd rekindle this old discussion in light of Bradley Wiggins' comments that cycle helmets should be made compulsory after an official Olympics bus knocked over and killed a cyclist. http://w
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Forums » Off duty » News & media » Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
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Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
posted at 2/8/2012 9:30 AM BST
on bmj.com
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*Moderator*
Posts: 1447
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
I thought I'd rekindle this old discussion in light of Bradley Wiggins' comments that cycle helmets should be made compulsory after an official Olympics bus knocked over and killed a cyclist. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/bradley-wiggins-calls-for-cycling-helmets-to-be-made-compulsory-following-olympic-games-bus-crash-8000839.html Here's our previous discussion: http://doc2doc.bmj.com/forums/off-duty_cycling_should-cycle-helmets-compulsory What do you think? |
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Re: Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
posted at 2/8/2012 5:18 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1285
First: 9/12/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
Matthew, They are manditory in some states in the USA, and they do save lives. However, in the case of individual cyclists, Manditory or compulsory becomes moot when one decides to not obey the law! Oftentimes stopping at stop signs becomes voluntary, unless a Police officer is nearby, then the $250.00 ticket makes it manditory! DuaneF |
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Re: Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
posted at 2/8/2012 5:24 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 134
First: 25/5/2011 Last: 17/5/2013 |
Let me get this right. Currently in the 21st century, with the number of vehicles on the road increasing year on year, anybody of any age can take a bicycle on the road with no training required, no mandatory safety equipment, no insurance and for no contribution towards the road system and ride around weaving between moving metal objects weighing several tons. All of this based on some idealised view that a Victorian invention and pastime has some historical precedent over motor vehicles on the road in a way that a walker or horse-rider does not. They are forbidden from motorways because it is felt to be too dangerous to ride on the hard shoulder, but in congested towns with limited visibility they regularly appear to claim some immunity from the highway code and not to ride in line with the traffic, but invent some extra inner and outer lanes and not be liable to the authority of traffic lights. They display no identification so that they can be reported and have their licence revoked and now finally, in the event of an injury, if they cannot claim from the insured motorist they expect the State to pay for their care if they are injured. And there are people here voting against wearing a cycling helmet when taxed, qualified and insured motor cyclists have to wear helmets and taxed, qualified and insured motorists have to wear seat-belts. Personally, if there are not proper cycle lanes, I would get them all off the road. It is no longer safe and most cyclists are gambling with their lives on Britain's roads today. If an insurance company would insure them, I would be most interested in both the policy requirements and the premiums. It might focus cyclists' minds on the realities that they have been in denial of for so long. 111 were killed on Britain's roads in 2010. Usually young, always an absolutely unnecessary tragedy. When Mr Wiggins cycles in a race, all the roads are closed. Other countries have cycle lanes and, in my view, that is where our cyclists should be - insured, compliant with legal safety requirements, following a traffic code and most definitely wearing a helmet. |
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Re: Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
posted at 3/8/2012 4:49 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 12
First: 5/4/2012 Last: 19/12/2012 |
Interesting. Two replies so far, both of which seem to assume that helmet wearing actually makes the wearer safer, and increases health and safety overall. The evidence - perhaps counter-intuitively - does not support this view. We should not, as a country, be implementing laws that are not supported by evidence; and we certainly should not, as a medical profession, be calling for the introduction of such laws. |
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Re: Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
posted at 3/8/2012 7:34 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 4
First: 8/2/2011 Last: 3/8/2012 |
To be fair, if a cyclist is hit by a lorry travelling at 30 miles per hour, it is unlikely that the cycling helmets are going to provide much more safety than if they weren't wearing one (guaranteed, they will help somewhat). If there is a law in place though, how many people will abide by it? and how easy will it be to enforce? If there's a small fine, people may think it's worth it if they are unlikely to be caught, but a large fine may be seen as going too far... To be able to ensure the safety of cyclists, I think it would be better to have proper cycle lanes throughout the road networks, and have laws that are similar to those of other road workers. There's only so much the law can do, if people don't want to be safe, they won't be.
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Re: Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
posted at 3/8/2012 10:48 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 12
First: 23/2/2010 Last: 7/12/2012 |
In Response to Re: Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?: Interesting. Two replies so far, both of which seem to assume that helmet wearing actually makes the wearer safer, and increases health and safety overall. The evidence - perhaps counter-intuitively - does not support this view. We should not, as a country, be implementing laws that are not supported by evidence; and we certainly should not, as a medical profession, be calling for the introduction of such laws. Posted by penglish Penglish’s (Aug.3)opposition to helmet laws is contrary to scientific evidence on the effectiveness of these laws. Considerable numbers of studies have examined the relation between helmet laws and head injuries, and all found a reduction in head injuries after legislation was enacted. Many countries have laws in place requiring all cyclists to wear helmets and have shown that laws directly affect these outcomes. An argument against having a helmet law is that it infringes on the rights of the individual to choose. If this is the argument, it could also be used against seat belt laws as well. We need to understand that, these laws are in place to promote the safety of the individuals and families to prevent unnecessary pain suffering due to potential injuries, and promote overall public health and safety in our communities, not to violate citizens’ rights. The public health benefits include an increase in the use of helmets, a prevention of severe head injuries. We all know that our health care systems are over strained by preventable injuries and it just seems logical that all countries have comprehensive bicycle helmet laws to prevent bicycle related injuries in the future. |
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Re: Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
posted at 4/8/2012 1:21 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 107
First: 13/3/2012 Last: 22/5/2013 |
My son, aged 35, probably should have known better, decided to slip around to the corner shop, in a very, very quiet suburb to get a bottle of milk. Simple. Of course not. After his milk purchase, he came out to be greeted by two mounted police who promptly booked him for riding without a bicycle helmet! He asked the officers if he could take photos of all of them because, later, as a conversation starter he needed to have proof so that his listeners would at least believe him. I can't begin to imagine the road rules that these two mounted police probably broke, or at least appreciably bent, to be riding horses on the suburban roads and whatever roads they had to ride or cross to get to there and back. Helmets to prevent brain damage don't mean much when the body is broken and pulverised, but they are about the only safety feature a cyclist can wear, unless they kit up like a motorcyclist. Recently, there has been a spate of deaths, two expert riders killed, not through their own fault, except if you count riding a bicycle on a highway, but by car and truck driver's carelessness, thoughtlessness, and lack of concentration on the important fact that here, the driving direction is opposite. |
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Re: Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
posted at 4/8/2012 7:31 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 339
First: 17/12/2011 Last: 15/5/2013 |
Well as a Liberal I tend to be againt compulsion. I remember being able to ride large capacity motorcycles in the Uk in the late 1960s before helmet use became compulsory. But having worked on Casualty and Orthopaedics many years ago I know that wearing helmets saves lives. Although one's hearing of traffic and peripheral vision was better without a helmet. One of my grand children is a competative cyclist, so yes he always wears a helmet. When I take my motor cycle out now I do wear all the kit, helmet is white as there was a BMJ article some years ago showing that riders with light helmets were slightly less lightly to be killed. But no amount of kit will save cyclist or motorcyclist from many major rtas.So I suppose the solution is to try to separate cyclists from cars and lorries. Still when we run out of oil, and if we still have civil order, then cyclist may have the roads to them selves :) |
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Re: Should cycling helmets be made compulsory?
posted at 4/8/2012 9:20 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2047
First: 12/3/2010 Last: 21/5/2013 |
Please, please, stop bickereing and look at the evidence. I'm not going to plough through the 500 odd papers that PubMed brings up from "bicycle helmet", but this very recent review (May 2012) found that "It can be stated that to date, that although a huge amount of research has been conducted in this area more studies are needed to evaluate and improve special conditions and needs in different regions, ages, nationalities and to create successful prevention programs of severe head and face injuries while cycling." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3403857/?tool=pubmed In other words, the value of bicyle helmets is unproven. This is not true of motorbike helmets or car seat belts, both of which have an evidence base for their value. I should declare a strong interest. After years of very occasional two-wheeled transport, here I am in London, using a bike every day to commute to the Olympic Park. When I have an early shift, I bike eight miles across the City. Granted, in the morning, it is very early with little traffic but that is not the case when I go home in the afternoon. I have been impressed by the bike friendly-attitude of London drivers. I do not wear a helmet. John PS An interesting development is the inflating neck/back collar now used by equestrians. First used by motorbike riders, it is a waistcoat that inflates in microseconds to support the spine if there is an impact or the rider falls off their horse/bike. It is popular with SPORT equestrians, and may become so among race bikers, but I don't think there is any actual evidence there. "Point Two" is just one manuafacturer: http://www.point-two.co.uk/ J. |
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