AIBU re cycle helmet use in children cycling to school

[cyclehelmetuse]

AIBU to think if secondary schools are able to enforce an exact length of regulation school skirt, the length of ties and inspect the contents of pencil cases they should be able to enforce the bringing of a cycle helmet when parking a bike on school premises?

Not one child wears a cycle helmet at our secondary school. Apparently it is totally uncool and children are bullied if seen with one. Even cycling with one hanging their handle bars is now unacceptable and is never seen.

I believe schools have a responsibility to enforce the bringing of a helmet as some of these children are only 11 years old and it is totally unacceptable that they are too scared of the older children to protect themselves.

Lethaldrizzle
'Stupid behaviour on bikes' is an insult to all the cyclists that have died on Britain's roads this year alone.

Ignoring the behaviour of some cyclists is not going to stop it happening.

Maybe it's my age but I believe making things such as helmets compulsory is an erosion of personal responsibility. I appreciate there are many fine arguments for such rules and undeniably they save lives. But I think the cost is an increasing sterile world where no one takes responsibility for there own actions. As a result all possible risks must be mitigated to the point activities become prohibitively expensive or banned. What was "molly codling" has become protected in the "snowflake" effect! In short individuals should be free to make errors and acknowledge those errors have consequences for themselves. When it comes to children this responsibility should residential with the parents until handed to the child. I know some will find the above objectionable, I just think we loose more than we appreciate when we implement bans and restrictions.

Forgivnessisdivine

Have a look at this for stats on road death

www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/death-on-the-roads/en/#deaths/per_100k

Netherlands is the same for cars as uk but higher for cycling with UK at 0.2 and NL at 1.1

Then have a look at road deaths for cars in Australia and it’s higher, but cyclist death lower

But the lowest deaths of cyclists is Saudi....

You can also take a look at pedestrian deaths, high numbers in some places - perhaps a tin hat may protect them

Personally I think we’d save far more lives if we looked at causation rather than protection and with 5 deaths per day on UK roads it would seem the cause is the motorist.

Our school requires helmet and high vis jacket or vest. If a child is seen without they have to attend a lunchtime cycle safety session. They all wear them, but we are in a big cycling area where most adults do too.

most head injuries occur to passengers and drivers in cars. Maybe the school should be checking if pupils are wearing a helmet if dropped off by a parent?

yabu
helmets are very unsafe when worn anywhere other than on the bike (strangulation risk on the playground for example).
plus wearing one makes car drivers overtake with an unsafe distance, so it increases the risk of road accidents.

Personally I think we’d save far more lives if we looked at causation rather than protection and with 5 deaths per day on UK roads it would seem the cause is the motorist

Precisely.

I work in a large secondary school. We run cycling safety sessions in assemblies and at parents coffee mornings. We have staff on duty at the gates at the beginning and end of the school day in an attempt to Police kids behaving recklessly on bikes. We talk to kids about the importance of wearing a helmet, most of them are happy to wear one anyway. As for the ones who don't, I have never heard a student or a parent mention children being bullied for wearing a helmet as the OP seems to suggest is the primary reason for refusing. The ones who don't wear a helmet simply say they "don't want to" or they "don't have one". If bullying for this reason was reported it would be dealt with in the same way as any other kind of bullying, the reason is irrelevant.

Ultimately, the issue is one of parental responsibility. If your child refuses to wear a helmet and you allow them to cycle to and from school anyway that's your call as a parent if you're prepared to take that risk. We can't police how children are getting to and from school but my colleagues and I have noticed we are increasingly being expected to intervene in issues occurring off site outside of school times (such as incidents on social media and at weekends) at a time when our budgets are being decimated and we barely have the staff and resources to deal with issues occurring in school. I recently had a parent ring me to inform me that their child is spending their dinner money on sweets and energy drinks at the local shop on the way to school each morning instead of buying lunch and what was I going to do about it?? The parents argument was that because they're in uniform at the time it's the schools responsibility

My 15 year old cycles to school and it's a constant battle to make sure he leaves the house with helmet and bike lights

What an idiot. Tell him you won't be the one wiping his bum for him when he's in a wheelchair.

There is strong evidence that wearing a helmet protects your skull in an accident. Hence it is the law in many countries.

We are so thick and backward in this country it makes me cross.

Can you name the countries where it is law to wear a helmet? I’ll start you of with Australia and New Zealand and let you name the many other countries

ivykaty that's because there are more cyclists in the Netherlands.

And almost none in Saudi!

No you carry on justifying being an idiot that's fine. People were like this about the seat belt law.

And almost none in Saudi

You got the point of the post then..?

And in countries where it is the law there has been a drop in cycling rates.
I also can’t believe so many people are happy to have their personal freedoms limited with laws. If you want to wear a helmet wear one, those who don’t should not be compelled by the law to do so.

These debates are always polarised in the same way and common sense seems to go out the window. Where we live there are many cyclists and many cycle paths which are crowded at rush hour with a mix of super fast cycle commuters, teens, smaller kids with parents. Some are shared use pavements. The risk isn't just from being knocked over by a car. A poor judgement call, a simple accident. I've seen the consequences in a and e. Nor a risk many around here take thankfully and nearly everyone I see has a helmet and high vis. The only people who don't are usually much older people for some reason. I'm grateful our school have a sensible approach, insisting that kids take appropriate measures to make sure they're as safe as they can be and educating them about that.

Op YANU

Also given that we now have 12 years to save the planet may be everyone should cycle, the more cyclists on the road the safer it is

I cycle with two clubs & as they are both associated with British cycling I have to wear a helmet to join the rides, that’s the rules. I’d wear a helmet in any case as it’s my choice.

My objection to enforced helmet wearing is it distracts from the main danger on the road, which is bad driving. By continuously looking at helmets, hi viz it distracts from drivers taking responsibility for their actions and harming all vulnerable road users - more pedestrians are harmed by motorists than cyclists, yes there are more of them but it’s motorists that are driving into them.

We need to move away from helmet use until we have improved driving and reduced speeding. Speeding is an epidemic on our roads, with £2.1bn collected annually it is the cancer of our roads

It really is just a cultural thing. I grew up in Australia where cycling helmets are compulsory I find it baffling and weird that people start talking about “personal freedoms”. Ditto the idea that motorists are less careful when cyclists have helmets on - really??!

But I feel wrong and naked if I cycle without a helmet. I just wouldn’t do it. Same as I wouldn’t ski without a helmet but my husband who grew up without them finds it weird to wear one and constantly bemoans that they restrict his hearing and visibility. It really is just what you’re used to.

Education of drivers would have a better affect on their driving

Those in areas where it is the norm for secondary school age to use helmets and or hi vis - do you mind posting where you are roughly in the UK or even if rural/city etc? There is not one secondary school age child here in a helmet or high vis in the last 2 years and plenty cycle. Would be interesting to understand why it is so different from area to area.

Cyclehelmet, I walk to work when in one office. On route I pass many secondary school students both walking and meeting friends who are cycling walking with bikes. The students cycling have the hiviz, helmets bikes but they don’t wear them.

Any school can produce permits for students cycling and insist they have helmets and hi viz but actually enforcing them to wear these garments is not going to happen.

Peer pressure is to strong, and if you make it law then cycling reduces - which has a different effect on health through pollution and obesity

I’m not going to tell you where I live but it’s a small market town.

Lots of kids of all ages walking and cycling to school.

Lots of adult cycling to work and for pleasure.

I honestly can’t think of the last time I saw anyone on a bike without a helmet.

The point is, wearing a helmet does not make you safer. 99% of people don't have them correctly fitted. If you drop them you should get another one. How many people do?

People always bring up seat belts on these threads. They are about as related as Brexit and the Millennium Bug.

I do think people should have hi-viz, but I also think pedestrians should, too. You can't see pedestrians in the dark when they are wearing dark clothes.

@3WildOnes no drop off rates in Australia as a result of the introduction as far as I am aware but there was a study done before the introduction of the law by Dr John Oliver and the University of New South Wales which studied about 64,000 injured cyclists and claims to have found that helmet use was associated with about 50% reduction in head injuries of any severity and 70% reduction in serious head injuries.

I've not read the report myself just the media reporting on it, I'm sure it would be available for you if you were interested in the methodology etc, and I'm sure by now it's been subject to critical analysis as well.