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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Cyclists without helmets on..

259 replies

Writerwannabe83 · 06/10/2013 09:52

Am I the only one who gets really annoyed about this?

If it is the law that us drivers have to wear seatbelts why is their safety choice an optional one?

IF we knocked a cyclist of his bike and he suffered irreparable brain damage or death as a result of a head injury it is us who would have to live with that guilt, even though they made the choice not to wear a helmet.

And then you see some parents out with their children on bikes and although the children always have helmets on, not all the parents do. It is great they are protecting their children, but why do they think their own brains don't matter? I don't mind cyclists on the road at all, but I wish they would wear helmets and keep themselves safe.

Maybe I'm just overly anxious about hitting one....or do they think it will never happen to them?

OP posts:

VinegarDrinker · 06/10/2013 11:27

No your risk of injury is a product of both the risk of an accident and the risk of that accident causing injury

badguider · 06/10/2013 11:27

There's a massive difference between - cyclists should choose to wear a helmet just in case. And - cyclists should be made to wear a helmet so that car drivers can worry less about hitting them on the road.
The second is essentially what the op says.

I always wear a helmet. But am totally against it being compulsory.

VinegarDrinker · 06/10/2013 11:28

" Otherwise, the steps do not reduce risk, so you don't take those steps."

This is the crux of the discussion. Whether wearing a helmet does or doesn't reduce risk.

Original poster

Writerwannabe83 · 06/10/2013 11:30

That's really unfair badguider - nowhere have I said that I wouldn't care about hitting a cyclist just because they have a helmet on. That's a really nasty thing to say actually.

To amy parents who put the helmets on their children to keep them protected but don't feel them to be a necessity, at what age would you tell your child it is ok to now cycle without one?

OP posts:

badguider · 06/10/2013 11:33

You did. You said if you ever knocked a cyclist off you'd feel terribly guilty if they were brain damaged from not wearing a helmet. That's exactly what you said.

Original poster

Writerwannabe83 · 06/10/2013 11:34

I said I would feel guilty - wouldn't anyone?
And how is that is the same as me saying I wouldn't care if I hit a cyclist?

OP posts:

PeppiNephrine · 06/10/2013 11:43

You hit them with your car, why wouldn't the guilt be yours? You imply that actually it would be their own fault as they didn't wear a helmet, but YOU HIT THEM WITH YOUR CAR (theoretically).

moustachio · 06/10/2013 11:46

I got hit by a car last year. He was in the wrong and pulled out of a junction that was give way, whislt he was texting. I saw him and braked.

He knocked me off my bike but I fell to the floor and hit my head. In this case, I think it saved me as hitting the concrete hard would of been bad without a helmet. BUT in extreme collisions, it wouldn't help in my opinion. So I always wear one, just in case there is a minor accident like mine, or if I just fall off through hitting something in the road etc.

I agree with mousymouse about drivers needed to take a bike-road-safety aspect of their test.

VivaLeThrustBadger · 06/10/2013 11:49

I always wear a helmet on my bike and I'm sure it savedmy llife when I fell off. Don't wear a helmet on my trike as I can't fall off it.

WMittens · 06/10/2013 11:51

VinegarDrinker

From 04. ? Phillips RO, Fyhri A, Sagberg F. Risk compensation and b icycle helmets. Risk Anal 2011;31:1187-95

"There are also confounding variables that are generally unmeasured and perhaps even unmeasurable. People who choose to wear bicycle helmets will probably be different from those who ride without a helmet: they may be more cautious, for example, and so less likely to have a serious head injury, regardless of their helmets."

It doesn't say anything about a correlation between wearing helmets and increases in accidents; it appears to be saying the issue is extremely complex and unclear due to the number of variables.

I'll work through the others and get back to you.

whois · 06/10/2013 11:52

Plus there is good evidence that motorists drive closer and more dangerously around those wearing helmets

Anecdotally, I have found this. I bike to work, usually in sports kit, high vis vest and helmet. Occasionally I bike in wearing a pretty dress and no helmet. Cars seem to give me a much wider bearth then.

WMittens · 06/10/2013 11:53

No your risk of injury is a product of both the risk of an accident and the risk of that accident causing injury

That's what I said - frequency x severity.

Original poster

Writerwannabe83 · 06/10/2013 11:54

Not all accidents are the fault of careless driving - I just don't understand peppinephrine why a cyclist wouldn't want to take as many measures as they could to protect themselves.

moustachoi - when I took my driving test about 6 years ago there was only 1 question in the Theory Test about drivers and bike safety- not exactly very thorough. As part of the test we were required to lift the bonnet and point to water tanks etc, maybe it would be more beneficial to have to have a face to face discussion with an examiner about cyclists so they check our knowledge about the risks we pose as drivers. I agree that it is something people should have an awareness of before being given their licence.

OP posts:

WMittens · 06/10/2013 11:57

VinegarDrinker

Nevermind, just found the reference in that article.

comingalongnicely · 06/10/2013 12:32

I wear a helmet if I'm whizzing around off road, less so when cycling to town/station etc because it's more likely to be of use if I fall off at high speed. If I'm hit by a car it's all pretty moot.

On the other hand, when I'm on my motorbike I'm covered in protection, Hi-Vis etc so the cars can see me - but I still think the main aim of the Crash Helmet is to make sure I look presentable in the casket!

Oldraver · 06/10/2013 13:01

I always assume cyclists without helmets dont value their life think more of their hairdo.

ButI think its criminal not to make children wear them. My other bugbear is those trailer bikes....I've seen very few children in them without helmets....they would give nil protection to any child who was hit.

ILikeBirds · 06/10/2013 13:13

I would say 90% of the families I see out cycling with their children are wearing cycle helmets incorrectly with loose straps, or helmet sitting on the back of their head with the forehead entirely exposed. I always assume these cyclists are morons misinformed about helmets and how much protection they give

treaclesoda · 06/10/2013 13:14

The idea that only neglectful parents don't make their child wear a helmet is a bit simplistic. My dd rides a bike up and down our own driveway and round her friends' gardens without a helmet. I pointed out that the helmet was for her safety and said that if she didn't wear it, she couldn't ride her bike. So, she chose not to ride a bike at all, and sat indoors whilst her friends were out playing. DH and I thought it through and made a calculated decision that the risk to her of inactivity, over the long term, was much higher than the miniscule risk of a head injury through falling off. We want her to be in the habit of cycling and running about, because a sedentary lifestyle could be a habit that's hard to break. It's not that we don't care about her safety, its just that we would prefer her to be active.

She understands that when she is older she will have to wear a helmet if she rides anywhere with traffic, but at the moment traffic isn't an issue.

quoteunquote · 06/10/2013 14:01

When cycle helmets came out there was a dip in the amount of organs available for transplant,

My surgeon friends (all who cycle) call non wearing helmet cyclist organ donors, as they are usually fit, conscientious (they have donor cards) and die from a knock to the head.

My children never have to be asked to wear theirs, as above friends have explained what happens.

they wear helmets for cycling, kayaking, riding, caving, climbing, (bizarrely in climbing you have to wear them for all training, but you don't wear them in climbing competitions), we have a massive rack of helmets,

It's just natural selection, if you choose not to wear one, well you can't be surprised when you die from a knock to the head.

Opalite · 06/10/2013 14:04

I cycle and never wear a helmet, I don't wear one while I'm walking either and I have had more accidents walking than cycling (I've had no accidents while on my bike) of course this is only 1 person but honestly, I don't think there's a problem with bike safety apart from drivers who aren't careful or respectful enough.

Sparklingbrook · 06/10/2013 14:05

But cyclists can come off their bikes without any cars being involved at all Opalite.

Opalite · 06/10/2013 14:07

They can indeed, you can also trip while you're walking, fall off a bus, crash your car into a wall......

Sparklingbrook · 06/10/2013 14:07

Don't get the comparison.

Opalite · 06/10/2013 14:08

Oh my point was that at the moment the safety issue to be focusing on is the negligent drivers, not people who don't wear helmets.

Original poster

Writerwannabe83 · 06/10/2013 14:08

But the chance of a head injury is higher when coming off a bike when compared to tripping whilst walking??

OP posts:

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