Helmets; The Paramedics View
- Thread starter Richard A Thackeray
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User6179
Guest
From her blog .
Saturday, 30 June 2012
Cyclists: Take Note
"Cyclists of various shapes and sizes acting like muppets"
OK, before I say anything else, I ride a bike. I ride to work (sometimes) and I have been known to cycle across Europe from time to time. That said... I HATE cyclists! Don't get me wrong, there is a lot to be said for riding a bike and if done properly, with due care and attention and respect, there is nothing wrong with it. However, as most of you will know, the courteous, well lit, single file, helmet wearing, law abiding cyclist is few and far between. Most think they own the road; they cycle about 3 foot from the kerb, they are not mindful of other road users and constantly jump red lights; red lights there to protect them and pedestrians.
There are different types of cyclists, each with their own unique style and habits that rub me up the wrong way:
The Commuter: Traffic is heavy, there are people everywhere, it is stop start and everyone is in a rush. These commuters, with their trousers tucked into their socks riding collapsible Bromptons, are a menace. They weave in and out of traffic, drift through red lights and most have head phones in their ears. This means they pedal away oblivious to the ambulance desperately trying to get past. They also tend to get where I am going quicker than me and quite frankly that annoys me!
The Trendy Cyclist: Some people cycle as much for the look as it is practical for them to do so. They slowly pedal away on their old fashioned bike complete with basket on the front without a care in the road. However in doing so, they fail to look left or right. In fact they fail to look at anything. They saunter across junctions, they swerve left and right, apparently incapable of cycling in a straight line and look truly offended at a) the noise of the siren or b) having to move and / or slow down to allow us to pass. How dare we?!
The Sunday Cyclist: Everyone cycles on Sundays, the roads are littered with bikes. I find the cycle clubs the worst. Groups of 20 plus men, all wearing their matching condom suits, insisting on cycling 3 abreast across the road. They go out of their way to be an obstruction and more often than not swear and hurl abuse when I resort to the 'bull horn' after the sirens have failed. They also don't wear helmets, just these stupid floppy caps. WEAR A BLOODY HELMET! Seriously!
There is no reason pedestrians, cars and cyclists cannot get on in harmony. Car drivers have their faults, as do pedestrians, but cyclists seem to be taking over the world without the skills and courtesy that cyclists on the continent have. They are a law unto themselves; they think that the Highway Code doesn't apply to them and cause endless crashes and traffic jams every single day. To that end, here is a list of 'don'ts' for our lycra loving population to adhere to:
Saturday, 30 June 2012
Cyclists: Take Note
"Cyclists of various shapes and sizes acting like muppets"
OK, before I say anything else, I ride a bike. I ride to work (sometimes) and I have been known to cycle across Europe from time to time. That said... I HATE cyclists! Don't get me wrong, there is a lot to be said for riding a bike and if done properly, with due care and attention and respect, there is nothing wrong with it. However, as most of you will know, the courteous, well lit, single file, helmet wearing, law abiding cyclist is few and far between. Most think they own the road; they cycle about 3 foot from the kerb, they are not mindful of other road users and constantly jump red lights; red lights there to protect them and pedestrians.
There are different types of cyclists, each with their own unique style and habits that rub me up the wrong way:
The Commuter: Traffic is heavy, there are people everywhere, it is stop start and everyone is in a rush. These commuters, with their trousers tucked into their socks riding collapsible Bromptons, are a menace. They weave in and out of traffic, drift through red lights and most have head phones in their ears. This means they pedal away oblivious to the ambulance desperately trying to get past. They also tend to get where I am going quicker than me and quite frankly that annoys me!
The Trendy Cyclist: Some people cycle as much for the look as it is practical for them to do so. They slowly pedal away on their old fashioned bike complete with basket on the front without a care in the road. However in doing so, they fail to look left or right. In fact they fail to look at anything. They saunter across junctions, they swerve left and right, apparently incapable of cycling in a straight line and look truly offended at a) the noise of the siren or b) having to move and / or slow down to allow us to pass. How dare we?!
The Sunday Cyclist: Everyone cycles on Sundays, the roads are littered with bikes. I find the cycle clubs the worst. Groups of 20 plus men, all wearing their matching condom suits, insisting on cycling 3 abreast across the road. They go out of their way to be an obstruction and more often than not swear and hurl abuse when I resort to the 'bull horn' after the sirens have failed. They also don't wear helmets, just these stupid floppy caps. WEAR A BLOODY HELMET! Seriously!
There is no reason pedestrians, cars and cyclists cannot get on in harmony. Car drivers have their faults, as do pedestrians, but cyclists seem to be taking over the world without the skills and courtesy that cyclists on the continent have. They are a law unto themselves; they think that the Highway Code doesn't apply to them and cause endless crashes and traffic jams every single day. To that end, here is a list of 'don'ts' for our lycra loving population to adhere to:
- Don't jump red lights
- Don't ride without a helmet
- Don't undertake anyone, ever
- Don't use my car to lean on at traffic lights. Mits off.
- Don't cycle in the middle of the road
- Don't jump red lights
- Don't ride without a helmet
- Don't change road position without signalling
- Don't wear headphones
- Don't ride on the pavement
- Don't ride without lights
- Don't jump red lights
Next week's blog. Brain surgeon writes that women are more stupid than men because on average their brains are smaller. Don't let this turn into any sexist man v women debate or any bra-wearing feminist stuff. He's a brain surgeon so knows more about brains than we do. Let's listen to his expert advice and take notice when asking women to do complicated stuff.
Sigh.
Sigh.
U
User6179
Guest
She also says the main cause of deaths to cyclists is going through red lights and not wearing helmets
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
FFS ....She also says the main cause of deaths to cyclists is going through red lights and not wearing helmets
This kind of carp needs to be ripped apart in public.
I like Skol
A Minging Manc...
- Location
- Sunny Ashton-under-Lyne
The trouble is I (almost) can't even be bothered to engage with discussions that involve the amount of hysterical emotional nonsense being peddled in this blog and similar sources, but deep down I know there are whole hoards of easily confused or deceived people who will be taken in by this rubbish and take it as fact, and that does bother me!
glasgowcyclist
Charming but somewhat feckless
- Location
- Scotland
Have you read the blog post you included in your reply to me? It calls helmetless cyclists idiots, over and over again. She even includes photographs of such riders helpfully labelled idiot. The only person he excuses from being an idiot is the helmetless boy in the story this thread started with.
She's not ill-informed, she's uninformed. And not just about the efficacy/need for helmets, she throws in the usual crap about.. "All drivers pay to be on the road. They pay road tax, petrol tax and huge insurance premiums. Cyclists do not. Cyclists do not own the road, you share the road with cars." but we're supposed to accept all that because she prefixes it with the predictable "I'm a cyclist too.."
As far as I'm concerned, her opinion on anything to do with behaviour on the roads is worthless.
GC
glenn forger
Guest
She also says the main cause of deaths to cyclists is going through red lights and not wearing helmets
Where?
But a paramedic is putting forward her opinion from a position of authority.
glenn forger
Guest
"Cyclists need to stop thinking they belong on the road. It needs to be viewed as a road for cars with cyclists using it."
Looneytunes.
Looneytunes.
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that .....
Sara_H
Guru
[QUOTE 3317385, member: 45"]The problem is that this paramedic is making stuff up and passing it off as fact, while using her position to enhance its credibility.
She's at pains to point out that she anonymises (sp?) all of her storied. Does this absolve her professional responsibility to confidentiality? Surely it's not to difficult to find out where she works.[/QUOTE]
This is an interesting point. A social worker was recently struck off for posting details of a case on facebook. She had anonymised the details, but the woman involved read it and recognised herself in the description and complained.
She's at pains to point out that she anonymises (sp?) all of her storied. Does this absolve her professional responsibility to confidentiality? Surely it's not to difficult to find out where she works.[/QUOTE]
This is an interesting point. A social worker was recently struck off for posting details of a case on facebook. She had anonymised the details, but the woman involved read it and recognised herself in the description and complained.
I like Skol
A Minging Manc...
- Location
- Sunny Ashton-under-Lyne
I feel compelled to add why it bothers me so much that people are taken in by this sort of drivel.
This is a true story of an incident that has taken place in the last 2 weeks and while I will not name any of the individuals involved or the exact location, for reasons of privacy, I can confirm that I was there and this has actually happened in the timescale described.
It is the final night of a nightshift set and I am sat at a table with 8 or 9 process and maintenance engineers, enjoying our ritualised final night curry at midnight. These are clever and capable guys with plenty of life experience in many areas. For some reason the conversation drifts round to cycling and someone pipes up "Hey Skolly, why don't you wear a cycle helmet? You ride on the roads, when it's busy, in rush hour and I've seen you, you don't hang about so what gives?"
My reply to the effect that I don't think getting a serious, life changing head injury while cycling is a significant risk in life results in lots of mumbling and head shaking. The next participant then throws his contribution into the arena, "what makes you think you're so indestructible then Skolly?"
I then go on to explain that I prefer to watch out for danger to minimise risks, and that while a helmet may prevent or reduce the severity of a head injury in some circumstances (and this is clearly open to debate) I personally believe the risk of receiving such an injury while cycling is negligibly low and comparable to the risk of obtaining similar head injuries in other daily and regular activities. I therefore choose to ignore the (very low) risk when cycling just as we all do when carrying out those other activities because, while I accept that suffering such an injury would be a disaster for me and my loved ones and that I am as frail and vulnerable as the next man, I am prepared to take that (microscopically slim) chance.
The debate then rumbles on and as expected drifts onto the topic of RLJ'ing cyclists
Many of these guys are not young, so they grew up in that wonderful time when kids were allowed to play out on the streets, unsupervised! Back then nobody would dream of putting a helmet on a fit & healthy kid before letting them ride a bike and that attitude didn't do them any harm. So what changed and what convinced them that it is know tantamount to suicide to ride a bike without a helmet?
This is a true story of an incident that has taken place in the last 2 weeks and while I will not name any of the individuals involved or the exact location, for reasons of privacy, I can confirm that I was there and this has actually happened in the timescale described.
It is the final night of a nightshift set and I am sat at a table with 8 or 9 process and maintenance engineers, enjoying our ritualised final night curry at midnight. These are clever and capable guys with plenty of life experience in many areas. For some reason the conversation drifts round to cycling and someone pipes up "Hey Skolly, why don't you wear a cycle helmet? You ride on the roads, when it's busy, in rush hour and I've seen you, you don't hang about so what gives?"
My reply to the effect that I don't think getting a serious, life changing head injury while cycling is a significant risk in life results in lots of mumbling and head shaking. The next participant then throws his contribution into the arena, "what makes you think you're so indestructible then Skolly?"
I then go on to explain that I prefer to watch out for danger to minimise risks, and that while a helmet may prevent or reduce the severity of a head injury in some circumstances (and this is clearly open to debate) I personally believe the risk of receiving such an injury while cycling is negligibly low and comparable to the risk of obtaining similar head injuries in other daily and regular activities. I therefore choose to ignore the (very low) risk when cycling just as we all do when carrying out those other activities because, while I accept that suffering such an injury would be a disaster for me and my loved ones and that I am as frail and vulnerable as the next man, I am prepared to take that (microscopically slim) chance.
The debate then rumbles on and as expected drifts onto the topic of RLJ'ing cyclists
Many of these guys are not young, so they grew up in that wonderful time when kids were allowed to play out on the streets, unsupervised! Back then nobody would dream of putting a helmet on a fit & healthy kid before letting them ride a bike and that attitude didn't do them any harm. So what changed and what convinced them that it is know tantamount to suicide to ride a bike without a helmet?
glasgowcyclist
Charming but somewhat feckless
- Location
- Scotland
She's on LinkedIn as Ella Shaw, Paramedic, NHS London and on twitter as diagnosisLOB. Her website's registrant details show an address in Barnet.
GC
- Status
