Cyclists without helmets on..

[Writerwannabe83]

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?

oh ffs, why don't we just make it compulsory for everyone to stay home wrapped up in cotton wool. World would be so much safer if we did.

Not one person on this thread has ever said they hate cyclists or that cyclists shouldn't be on the road.

FWIW - I would love a bike but I don't think I'm brave enough to face the roads I do miss cycling though! I used to do it loads when I was younger. I bought my husband a bike for his last birthday and he has been making comments about buying me one and I do like the idea of us going out for rides together. Like I said though, I think I'd be too worried about getting knocked off in order to completely enjoy myself. Maybe I could convince him to buy a bike rack for the car and we could drive to places that are considered safe to cycle in I.e national parks and fields etc.

30 miles in the sunshine does sound lovely

Maybe they think their child is more likely to fall off than they (the adult) is?

If we're off road on a cycle trail I don't wear a helmet but make dd wear one as she might fall off. Actually now she's 12 and doesn't fall off for no good reason I don't make her wear one either.

You learn your road craft, OP, in answer. There are ways of avoiding big lorries/buses as much as poss. IF I know there is a big truck behind on a narrow road I pull out and dominate the lane until the road is wide enough for the truck to overtake. It's assertive/defensive riding. Sometimes it takes a bit of gumption, but rather that than wait to be hit, ime.

Its true though that in The Netherlands, there are plenty of cyclists not wearing helmets. I would say the majority don't. You see children cycling to school without helmets, parents with children towed in cycle carriers without helmets, people on the back of bikes ridden by someone else, without helmets. Very rare to see hi-viz gear and lights aren't universal after dark either.

There are also plenty of parts of the Netherlands which don't have segregated cycle lanes, but just really quiet roads. I always find this strange because NL has a much higher population density than the UK, so it just must be much better planned and with a much better infrastructure. I'm thinking of parts of Overijssel, Drenthe, Overflakkee, Schoeree, etc.. In some of those parts, if you drive on the rural roads at the weekend, you really get in the way of families cycling, and have to go very slowly.

Incidentally, any motorist who is involved in a collision with a cyclist is automatically deemed to be criminally liable, unless the contrary is proven.

Writer Is it not nerve wracking when a big bus/lorry drives past you?

tbh I'm quite confident with good motor and reaction skills, and I don't spend too much time being scared and afraid of what might happen, although I do try to minimise risk. The main cause of death in my family is heart disease so, weighing the risks, I probably am safer to include cycling in my life. Certainly, I think eating too much, smoking, and drinking excessively, and doing no exercise, would be more risky to me than cycling on busy roads. In that my father had already had a heart attack and irreversible damage by my age.

Bikes don't have to have lights on in the dark?
How come?? Surely if they are road users they should have to follow the same rules as the other vehicles using the road at night?

lljkk oh ffs, why don't we just make it compulsory for everyone to stay home wrapped up in cotton wool. World would be so much safer if we did

I think in the UK, that is pretty much what a lot of people do. Hence they cannot conceive that cycling is nothing more than an anti-social activity done by cranks, so unusual has the concept of moving somewhere under your own steam become. Their concept of risk becomes skewed and their reaction is to restrict anything outwith their personal experience.

vinegar - actually if a person was walking on a road eg where there are no pavements, at night then I would expect high viz wear yes.

and why is it a whole outfit change? High viz strips do not require an outfit change.

" Certainly, I think eating too much, smoking, and drinking excessively, and doing no exercise, would be more risky to me than cycling on busy roads."

Exactly. I am convinced that the long and short term health benefits of cycling/walking everywhere daily far outweigh any tiny risk of a serious accident.

You want me to stick hi viz strips on my work clothes? It'd certainly be a .... unique look!

If I'm not at work I cycle in jeans and a t shirt usually. I am on and off my bike 3/4/5 times most days, sometimes many more. It is like asking someone to put on a special outfit to walk to the corner shop.

So my day might be: cycle DS to nursery, back on bike to go to shops, do shopping, home by bike, back on bike to take DD to Drs for her jabs, back home, back on bike to pick up DS, home again etc etc. And that's a very quiet day! Either I get hi viz tattoos or refuse to stress about not wearing hi viz for every journey I do.

Vehicles best avoided:
Buses, trucks, 4-wheel drives, white vans, any commercial vehicles, taxis, early model upmarket cars, dirty cars, cars with more than one person in them, that sort of thing.
and women are no less stupid than men.

I've noticed this control freak tendency in those who do not participate in movement outwith the vehicle. The sense of self importance becomes unusually enlarged - they think its the duty of other road users to avoid being hit by them or inconveniencing them. Even when the consequences of their negligence is to cause death or serious injury.

It was, sorry after the lovely day I've had I find this thread a bit depressing. Cycling should be for everyone.

hi viz tatoos! Excellent!

They should be compulsory for all cyclists, Pan, obviously. I should get the DC done too.

But we'd glow in the dark. Not a good look.

I think Maddening meant Hi Viz should be worn when cycling at night, not for every journey

Hi Viz tattoos though.....could be a money maker!
Get yourselves on Dragons Den

the other thing about helmets is that most cyclists die at junctions - I'd doubt a helmet would be much use there tbh?

I'd look a tad strange at work, too, but hey why wouldn't you want to do everything you could to reduce your risk of being killed

So do you think people choose not to wear helmets because they think that if they were involved in a serious accident it probably wouldn't do much to help them anyway so why bother?

(Genuine question, no nastiness or sarcasm intended, just interest as to the thoughts cyclists have about their safety)

In all seriousness, this British concept of "cyclists" as some other wordly breed of human rather than just, y'know, normal people using bikes to get around rather than their legs or a car, gives me the rage.

Sooo what sort of article are you researching, Writerwannabe83?

Lol

None, I promise

I like writing novels, not articles.