Should Cyclists Have to Wear a Helmet?
Ask a Question
Should all cyclists have to wear a helmet?
Gordon Ramsay has urged cyclists to wear one after he was badly bruised in an accident.
Source: news.stv.tv/world/gordon-ramsay-urges-cyclists-to-wear-helmets-after-really-bad-accident
I think so. There have been enough people die just cos they didn’t want to wear one. When you buy your toddler their first bike you out a helmet on them.
So it becomes habit like it has with most of us putting our seat. Belt on.
For safety reasons yes. Especially if you are cycling on the road. I always wore a helmet when reading a bike, so does our son. People can die from not wearing a helmet.
The way I see it, it’s the cyclists choice. If they crash it is most likely only to be themselves that they harm so if they don’t wanna wear a helmet that’s ok.
Yes, they should as the head is often the first part of the body to hit the ground in an accident.I also think that scooter riders should wear them too.
I think helmets help protect the cyclis. Unfortunately traffic don’t allow the space to pass them safely.
Pjran I cycle just in the countryside and find that smaller and slightly sporty cars like some Minis, BMW 1 series are mainly the ones which pass very very close. I think some think they are in something relatively small and maybe less powerful than they think, so they chance going round you, see the road ahead becoming blind/car coming over way, can't go past as fast as they'd like, and go very close to me.
People in any situation where there is an element of danger should take all precautions to safeguard themselves. If shown to be neglectful of doing this charge them for their hospital treatment. The NHS is under enough strain without added burdens.
Yes, absolutely. I always wear one, I watched a programme many moons ago, in regards to what happens to the brain on impact when involved in a crash... wasn't nice to watch
..would not take the risk, there are hardly any bicycle lanes around 
I was listening to an interview with a bike safety advocate, and they were saying that if you wear a helmet cars will tend to drive closer to you, because they can see you are wearing a helmet, but if you aren't they keep more of a distance. I really didn't know what to make of it, I suppose on the 100th occasion you might get a car driver who sees you aren't wearing a helmet and gives you a wider birth, but I think the other pros of wearing a helmet massively outwiegh that. Did make me think though. I wear a helmet not just because of other road users, I cycle mainly in the countryside and I've seen people thrown off their bike due to an issue with the bike, pothole, going off a steep bit of the road and using the front break too much, sheep etc, and I've seen the state of the helmet afterwards, and in most cases it's bloody good that they were wearing one.
Johnnycakes ....The lad who used to live over our back gave his mate a "backie" down a hill onto a busy road..
Lad over back braked suddenly & his mate went straight over the handle bars into path of a car ...Killed outright!
NO helmets & faulty brakes!
Yes they should. It should be law to wear one. The damage that can be done if you don't wear one is scary.
More head injuries occur in car crashes, but strangely you never have people asking if people in cars should wear a crash helmet. Strange
www.burnetts.co.uk/legal-news/britains-killer-roads-road-traffic-collisions-and-brain-injury/
No they should have the freedom to choose whether they want to risk get hurt or worse. The Darwin Awards would simply stop if everyone did what they are suppose to. I think too many freedoms have been taken away already.
I definitely think you should but I can understand why you may not want to. The Netherlands has a high concentration of cyclists and a low concentration of cycle helmets and a great safety record. However they have better cycling infrastructure. It's important to point out having a helmet is not the end of it. If you drop the helmet once you must replace it and you should replace it after 3 years anyway. There is a greater risk to health by not cycling because cyclists have improved fitness and lifespan and if you will only cycle without a helmet then it is still worth doing. A cycle helmet will only save you in certain circumstances it doesn't fully protect the head its only of light plastic construction with foam etc and will reduce the effect of the impact but severe impacts obviously it will not protect against. A road cycling helmet will not protect as well as a mountain bike helmet and a mountain bike helmet will not protect as much as a downhill helmet etc. There are a lot of variables at play.
I've seen some cyclists with what looks like dull and old cycling helmets perhaps being used beyond their useful lifespan. Lastly some helmets may reduce your visibility and hearing slightly which could be a negative effect. Also if you find the helmet uncomfortable it could be distracting.
BonzoBanana Also, I see a lot of people don't wear the correct size cycle helmets or wear them correctly.
Absolutely, there's so many incidents on the roads these days and it's a no brainer to try and protect your head.
You'd be crazy not to now with how dangerous roads traffics are now, I don't personally ride a bike, if I did, I would definitely wear one
martinlufc5637 Some of them make it more dangerous trying to pretend they were the victim/innocent party.
There's a video of such a case on YT and the guy got heavily criticized for pulling that stunt.
Different video, but same attitude:
They need to follow the rules and laws of the road like everyone else, they're not given privilege just because they ride a bike.
Ideally, they should as it could save them. But practically? Loads won’t as they’d have to carry one and may forget or lose them (in an ideal word, we could just park our bikes and have our helmets attached to them in a convenient place…but in this world, convenience means things get stolen)
This afternoon I saw two lads cycling home after school with their helmets dangling from the handle bars. I wonder if they put them on just before they get home.
No... who is going to enforce it. The police are already overstretched. Local councils may just use it as another means of getting income by imposing steep fines. Cyclists know it's in their interest to wear a helmet, so those that choose not to know there is a risk. Countries that have imposed helmet laws have found 'cycle use typically falls by at least 30%, and more among teenagers'. Meaning less people are getting the health benefits from cycling in those countries.
CyclingUK released a document that 'sets out the case, backed by evidence, for NOT making cycle helmets compulsory in law' - www.cyclinguk.org/sites/default/files/document/2017/11/helmets-evidence_brf.pdf
ACR I think the current situation where it is optional yet lots of information showing the benefits of helmets and trying to motivate people to use them is ideal. I personally don't think we should change the status quo. There is also the speed factor. Some cyclists are on lightweight road bikes and can ride at very high speeds on the flats and downhill and other cyclists just puttle along around 15mph sometimes less. Ebikes can be the slowest bikes overall despite being the easiest bikes for going up hill. They can be heavy and once you go beyond the assist speed of 15.5mph they can be a pain to cycle faster due to their weight, its only really going down hill where they can get high speeds so overall they can be slower compared to a fit rider on a super lightweight road bike. The higher the speed of bicycles the more danger in a collision with a car etc. There is more need for a cyclist on a road bike to wear a helmet compared to a slower more casual cyclist. Carbon fibre forks are the most likely to fail and collapse, thin road bike tyres have the least grip and the longest braking distance and more likely to puncture, caliper brakes don't perform as well as disc brakes especially hydraulic and especially in wet weather. Lots of safety factors in play its not just about helmets. A road bike is very compromised in safety terms and therefore it makes more sense to wear a helmet on such a bike.
Irresponsible if they don't as it can very well save their lives, but cyclists these days have a bit of an attitude so not surprised they don't.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. (:
100% people shouldn’t be allowed on a bike unless they wear a helmet. Did you see what happened to Gordon Ramsey’s helmet- saved his life, unfortunately his body was black n blue.
I don't think anyone can argue no to this promt to be fair, sure you look a little silly but a good helmet has proven over and over again that it's needed and can make all the difference in an accident
A few days ago I watched a woman wearing a helmet riding a bike with 2 small children on who wasn't wearing helmets. Shocked didn't come close
Imnotcheap Perhaps she doesn't like her children. Also you get seats for small children on the front of the bike so basically they are the first to get the impact of any collision protecting the main cyclist which always seems a bit horrible. Child seats should be on the rear of the bike ideally I think.
Imnotcheap I did see the rear seat of course but this safer seat is unused and the more dangerous seat at the front is occupied with a child.
It should be up to the individual as to whether or not he/she wants to wear a helmet.
You have to wear a seatbelt in the car so why shouldn’t you wear a helmet on a bike?
Join for free to get genuine deals, money saving advice and help from our friendly community
Chief Bargain Hunter
