It's common sense that cyclists

Helmets should be made compulsory for pedestrians and motorists. Just as many deaths and horrific head injuries would be prevented.

It's common sense.

And dogs, when they're not in the park.  Just in case.

Don't forget hampsters. That exercise wheel can be flipping dangerous when they fall off.

Actually I'm wrong about pedestrians and motorists. Helmets for those two groups would prevent far more deaths and head injuries than helmets would for cyclists.

In fact it's time for a campaign to make helmets compulsory for everyone at all times (I'm thinking DIY accidents, falling off ladders etc. here). Anyone who refuses to wear a helmet and then expects free hospital treatment is a leach on the NHS.

It's common sense.

This pretty much covers every side of the argument:

http://www.cycle-helmets.com/helmets-uk-dec-2012.pdf

... and, anecdotally, I can cofirm that this effect is very real

"It is also theorised that the presence of a cycle helmet on a cyclist changes the risk compensation of other road users. In a well-known study, Walker (2007) used ultrasonic distance sensors to detect how close 2,300 vehicles passed in response to a variety of factors. This study found that drivers both passed and approached helmeted cyclists much closer than those not wearing a helmet. Walker (2007) states that this may support other research that suggests drivers tend to believe helmeted cyclists are more serious, and are less likely to make mistakes. This perception is against the fact that less experienced and confident cyclists are more likely to wear helmets than most other cycling groups."

I say all this as the owner of a big shiny helmet which I wear all the time.

Don't see why it puts people off. It surely can't be because of appearance as most folks (don't include myself here) look good in them.

We often have cycling club groups through the village, and I don't recall seeing any without a helmet.

Does wearing a helmet impair your hearing at all?

If they do that's dangerous.

They don't look good wearing them AP.

Then look like a bunch of big jessies

^^Or overgrown kids.

Doesn't impair your hearing one bit, but the wind in your lugs certainly does so maybe they should ban ears.

^Or simply cut them off flush with their heads.

Then how would I wear my snazzy shades?

I wanna tell you a story:

I was in my car with a passenger parked on the wrong side of the road near a bend.
I asked my passenger if there was anything coming so that I could pull across the road and continue because she could see better than me.
She said ''okay.''
I started to pull out but I'd got my window down and heard a noise so I stopped. It was a car coming up behind me that she hadn't noticed.

A swift backhander from me landed on its target.

You seem to take pleasure in beating women

Facts you've got a lot to learn my son.

''A dog a woman an old walnut tree.
The more you beat 'em the better they be.''

There was never a truer saying.

Someone's in controversial mode today.

What really annoys me about helmets for cyclists is the implication that cycling is somehow more dangerous than driving or walking.

Driving is five times more dangerous than cycling for young men
A study looked at hospital admissions and deaths in England for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers over a two year period, as well as examining the distance they had travelled and the mode of transport.

And cycling topped motoring for safety in the younger age bracket, journal PLoS ONE said.
Dr Jennifer Mindell, of UCL, said: "What we found is that risks were similar for men aged between 21 and 49 for all three modes of transport and for female pedestrians and drivers aged 21 and 69 years.
"However, we found that for young male cyclists between 17 and 20 years of age, cycling was markedly safer than travelling by car.
"Perceived road danger is a strong disincentive to cycling and many potential cyclists do not ride on the road due to safety concerns.
"But research regarding the safety of cycling tends to be distorted by a number of errors which are found repeatedly in published papers and policy documents, with many substantially overstating cycling injuries and under-reporting pedestrian injuries."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9729218/Driving-is-five-times-more-dangerous-than-cycling-for-young-men.html

So either apply common sense and call for helmets for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike , or just accept that common sense rarely offers a better solution than thinking about a problem.

Cycle paths are dangerous

Don't try to Derailleur the thread with your puns crisp!

Cycling has got to be safer than driving.
Cyclists ride on the pavements.

Perhaps the driving age for young men should be raised to 21 as they take more risks behind the wheel. They have to be more careful when riding a bike on the road.
Most cyclist around here ride on the pavement lowering the risk for them but increasing the risk of injury to pedestrians especially the elderly.

Facts    05 Nov 14 09:11 
Interestingly it comments on a previous observation from Mt Boardman

what category is this climb?

Cyclists who ride on the pavement do so because helmet campaigns have led them falsely to believe that cycling in the road must be dangerous.

Why make wearing a helmet compulsory?

It merely protects the brain of a person who is not smart enough to realise they should be protecting their brain with a helmet.

...Leaving it as it is is a form of natural selection.

In my experience, cyclists in biggish towns and cities are the angriest people in the world, the amount of times I've seen them jump off their bikes to confront pedestrians or car users aggressively is unbelievable, I can only imagine it's partly because they feel inferior to car users, like second class citizens who have less say on the roads and their frustration builds up and up till a tipping point.

The endless law breaking is never fails to amaze me either, never a day goes by when you don't see a cyclist going straight through red lights, riding on pavements or weaving in and out of traffic then being stuck in the middle when the lights change, big cities and towns are not designed for bikes, they are designed for motor vehicles, however it's a different story in more rural places where they feel a lot less stressed and inferior, wouldn't think twice about getting off their bikes to help someone whereas in places like london most wouldn't think twice about doing the opposite

Cyclists ride on the pavement because the police don't enforce the law.
I'm not against a strip of the wider pavements being sectioned off for cyclists which would help segregate them from pedestrians but as things stand they are are a nuisance and an unnecessary danger.

i miss my C5, at least it took some of the impact

Why make wearing a helmet compulsory?

It merely protects the brain of a motorist who is not smart enough to realise they should be protecting their brain with a helmet.

...Leaving it as it is is a form of natural selection.

OR

Why make wearing a helmet compulsory?

It merely protects the brain of a pedestrian who is not smart enough to realise they should be protecting their brain with a helmet.

...Leaving it as it is is a form of natural selection.

Fixed it for you.

I got hit by a cyclist the other week.

Motorists by the way are universally fat filth who never dip their headlights on unlit roads because they're too preoccupied with throwing fast food packaging at houses and Red Bull cans into hedges.

Motorists are just so thick and so fat.

Dr Crippen     05 Nov 14 10:38 
Facts you've got a lot to learn my son.

''A dog a woman an old walnut tree.
The more you beat 'em the better they be.''

There was never a truer saying.



Do  you wear gloves to protect your knuckles as they drag on the ground when you walk ?

ALL BIKES SHOULD COME WITH A SAFETY HELMET,JUST LIKE A KETTLE COMES WITH A PLUG

AND IT SHOULD BE WIRED UP

I would NEVER beat my dog. He obeys my every command simply because it pleases me for him to do so. He does NOT obey out of fear.
IF, by any chance, he does not do my bidding...then that is MY fault for not ensuring that he understood the command. Slack training.

naydam, I'm so happy for the pair of you.

Do  you wear gloves to protect your knuckles as they drag on the ground when you walk ?

No Facts.
I only wear gloves when I give someone a clout.

Thank you, Dr Crippen. It's nice to be nice. To be honest, I don't think I would beat my wife. either. Walnut trees?...well, tha'ts another matter.'

that's FFS! 

Rock ape Crippen

No Facts.
I only wear gloves when I give someone a clout.

Did you mean a w4nk DrC?

I can see that akabula has got his mind in his trousers.