I love helmets

[Big_Dave]

Do you also wear shoulder, elbow, and knee protection?

That's like saying a builder wears an hard hat in case he bangs his head or something drops in his head, should he wear full body armour in case he falls off the ladder.

 

[Mugshot]

Life is full of risks,

It is, some risks are greater than others, some are about the same as others. Cycling carries around the same risk as some surprisingly everyday activities and rather less than others. What's interesting about it, and worrying as far as I'm concerned, is why it is that cycling has gained this reputation of being an activity that requires the use of a helmet. It certainly isn't based on the desire to reduce the amount of head injuries suffered and it doesn't appear to be based on the statisical likelyhood of a head injury either.

 

[broadway]

That's like saying a builder wears an hard hat in case he bangs his head or something drops in his head, should he wear full body armour in case he falls off the ladder.

Not really as helmets aren't meant to protect against falling from ladders. They are for minor knocks on obstructions when moving around a site and falling items. The dynamics of building site and bicycle usage are totally different.

 

[Big_Dave]

I have no doubt the cycle helmet was pushed marketing thing to make money and now as a fashion accessory rather than to protect ones noggin

 

[Big_Dave]

Not really as helmets aren't meant to protect against falling from ladders. They are for minor knocks on obstructions when moving around a site and falling items. The dynamics of building site and bicycle usage are totally different.

not really you fall off the bike you can bang your head

 

[Mugshot]

I have no doubt the cycle helmet was pushed marketing thing to make money and now as a fashion accessory rather than to protect ones noggin

I think you may well be right @Big_Dave. You certainly don't tend to find many manufacturers shouting the benefits of protection when they advertise their helmets, it's far more likely to be weight, ventilation or colour which are mentioned. Interesting then that so many individuals have essentially become fashion victims, it also begs the question that if that is what you believe why do you continue to wear one?

 

[broadway]

not really you fall off the bike you can bang your head

Contruction helmets are not designed to counter falls.

 

[Big_Dave]

I was just interested to explore why you consider a graze to the head more worth protecting from than one to the elbow.

No reason. apart from suffering a bad head injury.

@broadway Sorry I think should have explained better my post, builder wears hard hats as to protect from falling objects from above or bang head on scaffolding not as in a fall, but wears no protection against falling off a ladder

@Mugshot Most will follow what pro's wear whatever the sport, having personally suffered head injuries made my decision for wearing one, I'm not a dedicated follower of fashion, never have been..

Guys, everyone has a right to their own opinion albiet whoever is right or wrong, just because there are 2 sides to an argument doesn't make either side right or wrong, it's a complex debate and each accident has it's own variables as to if, what, how or could have been. You do at the moment have the right to choose to wear or not to wear, if it ever became law then yes you could kick a stink up about it if you were that against it. move on

 

[benb]

As always, I find it fascinating that there are many everyday activities that we do that have a similar or worse risk of head injury, both relative and absolute.
Yet for those activities there is no promotion of head protection, no implication that those not wearing a helmet are idiots or fools, and not the slightest question of compulsion.

 

[GrasB]

Wouldn't it be smarter to do that before anything becomes law?

^^ this. It'll be much harder to get a law repealed than it is to prevent it getting put onto the statute books.

 

[Big_Dave]

Wouldn't it be smarter to do that before anything becomes law?

yes you have that option,I don't know if there is likely to be a law passed about wearing one, tbh I don't care either way as it doesn't bother me, but if the government want it law they will make it law no matter what we think

 

[Big_Dave]

Surely not, government reflects the will of the people.

Only when it's close to a General Election

 

[Profpointy]

Surely not, government reflects the will of the people.

yebbutt... "the people" would probably support cycle helmets because "it's obvious innit" and anyway we're just a bunch of lycra clad hooligans who jump red lights, run down old ladies and don't pay any effin' road tax.

According to at least one political theory, we pay politicians to do all the homework and look into such things properly then decide on our behalf. This isn't necessarily the same as doing "what the people want" in the Daily Mail sense

Key thing is we're paying for the homework rather than the decision

 

[Big_Dave]

While ever the masses are buying helmets in droves there is no reason to make them law, the government is already making a bucket load of cash from VAT sales of helmets.

 

[Mugshot]

yes you have that option,I don't know if there is likely to be a law passed about wearing one, tbh I don't care either way as it doesn't bother me, but if the government want it law they will make it law no matter what we think

You should care @Big_Dave and it should bother you. If we look at compulsion in other countries, Australia for example, there is no question that following the introduction of a helmet law the amount of people cycling dropped. The very simple fact is that the more people there are cycling the safer it is for cyclists, the less people there are cycling the less safe it is and that applies to whether you wear a helmet or not. Quite simply if helmets were made compulsory in the UK it is very likely that cycling would become a more dangerous pastime for YOU, and that's why it should bother you.