Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Keep pushing it is important they do not get away with compulsion where not backed up with evidence.
The CycleChat Helmet Debate Thread
- Thread starter Shaun
- Start date
-
- Tags
- helmet helmet debate
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
velovoice
Veteran
- Location
- Between the City and the Sea
or indeed the law.
Justinslow
Lovely jubbly
- Location
- Suffolk
I just put a post up on our club Facebook page regarding the email asking for opinions.
It lasted about half an hour before the admin pulled the plug as it started to kick off, not just on here then!
It lasted about half an hour before the admin pulled the plug as it started to kick off, not just on here then!
Well done. I would also be inclined to contact the local police and ask them why they are giving the school inappropriate and incorrect advice.
Yes, well done @Justinslow . In addition to theclaud's point, is it worth asking the school if their remit extends beyond the school gates in the first place?
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Be careful though. They might not have actually said what the school claims. (And I think that's Suffolk which shares a roads policing unit with Norfolk so I really hoped they haven't.)
Justinslow
Lovely jubbly
- Location
- Suffolk
Unfortunately joe public (and a lot of people who should know better) generally think it's a good idea.
You're almost "swimming" against the tide.
Like I said I've no problem with people wearing helmets, I do, but not all the time, the problem I have is with HAVING to wear a helmet.
How can people not see that it's mostly crap driving or poor riding that is the problem. Close passing, on the phone, not looking, speeding etc etc or cyclists not riding correctly?
You're almost "swimming" against the tide.
Like I said I've no problem with people wearing helmets, I do, but not all the time, the problem I have is with HAVING to wear a helmet.
How can people not see that it's mostly crap driving or poor riding that is the problem. Close passing, on the phone, not looking, speeding etc etc or cyclists not riding correctly?
Nigel-YZ1
Guru
- Location
- Somewhere else... maybe soon.
If the police are so concerned about school run accidents perhaps they should be policing the roads around the school.
...damn. Forgot there's not enough money for that.
...damn. Forgot there's not enough money for that.
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
Of course the school might have even made it up about contacting the police.
And if they have they need to be pulled over the coals for it.
@Justinslow ,did you hear anything back from the school in response to your latest missive?
Justinslow
Lovely jubbly
- Location
- Suffolk
Nope, nothing from my second email.
I kinda lost interest, I figure it’s a no win situation for anybody trying to counter it. Say you managed to get the ruling overturned with a big public fight then in the distant future some kid has an almighty bad crash whilst not wearing a helmet and was badly hurt, however remote this may be, how would this reflect to the masses? How would they feel about the person who got the “helmet compulsion” rule lifted?
I know how some people think about it (pro helmet) who responded to my Facebook post regarding this matter, some quite vitriolic comments from friends who haven’t got a clue regarding helmet efficacy or “evidence”, and they are my friends!
This is such a dodgy area as -to the uneducated, we are trying to stop a perfectly reasonable “safety measure”, they just don’t get it, much like I didn’t “get it” when I first got involved with this debate, they think we are mentally deranged if you question the wearing of a helmet as it’s obvious init- they must be a good thing, right?
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
This is the core problem. Such freak head injury events are very graphic and visible and held against pro-choice advocates, whereas the harm done by the anti-choice rule-makers is far more subtle and long-term. No-one's going to point to all the premature deaths they cause by discouraging exercise and encouraging inactivity and polluting transport and blame it on them.
In reality, the no-win situation is bending over and accepting their helmets, but how do we best convince people that they shouldn't force helmets?
Appealing to any of the many worthy reports like Get Britain Cycling ("They should not simply seek to ban or restrict cycle use, or to impose helmet rules – these are not only misguided in terms of health and safety, but may also be illegal") or Gill's Cycling and Children and Young People ("the case for cycle helmets is far from sound") doesn't seem to convince the zealots. They just leap on any crumbs that suggest that helmets may offer some protection in some cases and say "aha, even your evidence says they work" while ignoring all the drawbacks.
So I urge you to please keep pressing them. If nothing else, if you can get them to state their bonkers rationale in public, if cycling rates fall or fail to keep up with comparable schools, someone else might be able to go "we told you so" and get a future administration to repeal the rule.
I think most people get it if you ask why drivers don't all wear F1-style protective equipment (it's disproportionate and in some ways unhelpful for ordinary driving because it restricts vision).
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
But you are not demanding that kids do not wear helmets. You are demanding that it remains the choice of the parents of each kid. If a kid with a helmet has an accident and suffers brain injury as a result would they blame it on the school?
glasgowcyclist
Charming but somewhat feckless
- Location
- Scotland
Ah, they have that covered with the stock phrase: "Despite wearing a helmet... "
