to think that the focus on bicycle helmets, rather than safe riding, is actively dangerous

[AgaPanthers]

There seems to be this mantra that cycle helmets are the first and last thing with bicycle safety. Lots of schools won't let you ride to school if you don't wear a helmet. They don't give a shit if the bike has functioning brakes, or the fork is the wrong way round (both pretty common faults), but they'll go crazy if a child comes in with no helmet.

Here's a video:

Young boy, nearly gets killed by a lorry. He obviously has no idea about safe riding. His parents have bought him a helmet, he's wearing it even, and it looks like reflectors on his trousers as well. So they obviously are concerned about his safety on his bike.

But his riding style is incredibly dangerous. And this kind of riding is pretty common.

If you get run over by a lorry, a helmet will do fuck all for you.

There is a regular stream of teenagers who get killed riding on roads.

AIBU to think that the idea that you just buy your child a helmet and it's off he goes, is actively dangerous, and that the first priority should not be 'are you wearing a helmet?' but 'Can you ride safely?' (which in this case would either be a shoulder check and hand signal, or simply crossing the road on foot at a gap in the traffic.)

I've just started riding a bike having not done so for about 25 years. I'm continually horrified at the way some people ride but where I am it seems to be the adults that are riding in a stupid, reckless way on roads and pavements.

I can't say whether there's too much focus on helmets but I made sure I bought one before I went out for the first time. I know Bikeability (cycling proficiency) is done in all the schools locally, but I've been looking for adult provision and drawing a complete blank. I'm sure there are plenty of people like me who haven't ridden for years, and have forgotten what they learned in cycling proficiency (or never did it anyway). There are dedicated cycle paths near me but all only accessible via some pretty busy roads, so I'm pushing my bike quite a lot rather than put myself or anyone else in danger (and reading up on cycling safety in my spare time!)

Not really.

You have more chance of surviving being hit by a shit car driver if you have a helmet on. It wouldn't matter whether you were an amazing cyclist if a car was doing the bad driving .

That's not really true. I see lots of shit drivers when I'm cycling. I see them, and I take steps to protect myself (e.g, when passing a side road, move towards the middle of the road to avoid being hit by a driver joining from the side road). I try to assume that drivers are shit.

I was an impulsive and reckless bike rider. I still have a scar on my knee from a particularly bad wipe out where a rock got embedded under the skin. I have a helmet from when I was a kid and wiped out racing my friend down a rocky dirt hill. It has pebbles and tiny rocks actually embedded into it (and I think the plastic part is cracked).

My parents have kept the helmet and show kids they've babysat when they're making them wear helmets. I brought it with me to a house where I watched a couple kids to show them because they were giving me a hard time about helmets. I ask them if they fall off their bike and fall off they might, would they rather have rocks in their helmet or rocks in their heads. I think it helps to be shown a visual of what a helmet can prevent.

In any bike accident it's better to get hurt with a helmet than without one. It may not prevent death with something catastrophic but it certainly won't hurt to wear one either. I don't think not wearing one will prevent deaths, especially with kids who make stupid decisions on the fly with or without safety gear. God knows I never learned my lesson from road rash, gashes, and scrapes But to your point, yes additional safety needs to be taught with bikes, not just using helmets as a be all end all.

"I've heard several A&E doctors comment on whether a cycling helmet would or wouldn;t have prevented serious harm or death just based on their experience."

I know someone who was knocked under a lorry from their bike at a London junction. Had their leg mangled. Never hit their heard. She reckons the first question every dr in a&e asked her was whether she was wearing a helmet.

I always wear a helmet and believe its saved me from serious injury once. Fell off, banged my head (helmet) and had concussion. It was a scary, hard bang.

But I do think that we need to focus on driver education, cyclist education and improving the infrastructure to prevent accidents.

To quote British Cycling policy advisor Chris Boardman: "I think the helmet issue is a massive red herring. It’s not even in the top 10 of things you need to do to keep cycling safe or more widely, save the most lives.

“We’ve got to tackle the helmet debate head on because it’s so annoying. It gets a disproportionate amount of coverage. When you have three minutes and someone asks ‘Do you wear a helmet’ you know the vast majority of your time when you could be talking about stuff that will make a difference, is gone.”

So YANBU. At all.

Didn't Chris Boardman also say that a helmet saved his life? Seems he's now more worried about selling his brand of bike than the safety of children