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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think cyclists should wear helmets??

18 replies

familyof4boys · 25/04/2020 22:03

Why would a cyclist not wear a helmet? What am I missing?! A bike is an expensive piece of kit whereas a helmet can be bought for around £20- if you are buying a bike, why wouldn’t you also get a helmet? I have seen so so many people cycling on main roads without helmets- it looks so dangerous and not worth the risk. Yes, I know if you are in a really bad crash a helmet probably won’t make all that much difference but surely it helps and is worth something?!

Fill me in non-helmet-wearers... AIBU to think all cyclists should wear helmets?

OP posts:
bridgetreilly · 25/04/2020 22:06

In general, we let people choose whether or not they want to take risks. We have laws about things where one person's actions endanger other people (drunk driving, social distancing etc) but people can endanger themselves. So if someone wants to cycle without a helmet, that's up to them.

Changingmyname1234 · 25/04/2020 22:30

Totally agree op. I've worked in a head injury unit and it's so horrendous I cannot understand why anyone would take that risk. It's especially annoying at the moment with the NHS under so much pressure.

SamSeabornforPresident · 25/04/2020 22:31

I've seen a mountain bike helmet with a small rock so embedded in it that it couldn't be removed, so everyone in my house wears bike helmets.

1555CC · 25/04/2020 22:32

In general, we let people choose whether or not they want to take risks. We have laws about things where one person's actions endanger other people (drunk driving, social distancing etc) but people can endanger themselves. So if someone wants to cycle without a helmet, that's up to them.

In which case, why do we force motorcyclists to wear helmets?

If you knock a cyclist of their bike in your car, it's likely to effect you far more if they suffer a catastrophic brain injury as opposed to them denting their helmet.

furling · 25/04/2020 22:32

In the UK, yes. In countries with proper provision for cyclists, no.

Zampa · 25/04/2020 22:33

British Standards only test helmets to 14mph, basically falling from a stationary position into the ground. They provide no protection in a collision with a vehicle.

Helmets can also deter people from cycling and the detriments to health this causes is significant.

Coastercat · 25/04/2020 22:35

It’s personal choice whether a cyclist wears a helmet. I’d always wear one. What I cannot fathom is those that cycle around with a helmet dangling off their handler bars. They take one with them but don’t put it on? What is that all about??? It’s usually commuters. I’ve often wanted to stop someone and ask them but I don’t have the guts. Anyone know the answer?

KellyHall · 25/04/2020 22:36

When I complained about not looking cool in my helmet when I was a child, my mum said "oh, do you think you'd look better with brain damage?"

I've always worn one since. And luckily I have, I came off my bike and went head first in to a wall last autumn. I was covered in bruises from my jaw to my feet but my head and brain were in tact.

ArialAnna · 25/04/2020 22:49

There's research showing that drivers give cyclists without helmets more space on the road (probably because they worry those cyclists are more likely to be incompetent!) which could reduce their risk of a collision in the first place.

Fwiw though, I always wear a helmet when cycling a normal two wheeled bike. I have come off before just skidding on ice, so I think it's better to wear a helmet.

However, when riding my three wheeled cargo bike with my two kids inside I do not wear a helmet. I stick to very quiet roads, but any collision would be disastrous for my kids, so I want drivers to give me as much room as possible - the more incompetent they think me the better!!

These things are not always black and white

JellyfishandShells · 25/04/2020 22:57

My brother ( as an adult ) was knocked off his bike by a cowardly hit and run. Broke a shoulder and the opposite arm, which made life very difficult. His high quality helmet had a dent in it from hitting the high kerb - he was told by A & E that if that had been his skull, he would have had a serious injury.

Even for a quick pop to the shops, I will always wear my helmet.

nettytree · 25/04/2020 23:01

My hubby was knocked off his bike last year. The paramedics said he would have died if he wasn't wearing a helmet. It was completely smashed on the side it hit the ground.

TheSquitz · 25/04/2020 23:04

My DH never wears a cycling helmet as he has read various studies that show that above a certain speed, they are ineffective. He works for British Cycling so he is pretty clued up. I'd much rather he wore one, but it's his choice.

custodiandiscount · 25/04/2020 23:10

Interesting that 6 of the 12 the posts before I started typing this mention cars hitting cyclists as the reason for wearing a helmet, but safety is apparently the cyclist's responsibility and not the driver's? Talk about victim blaming.

The dangerous activity (driving) is normalised in this country.

Go to the Netherlands where cycling is the norm and almost nobody wears a helmet.

CherryPavlova · 25/04/2020 23:15

Research from Reading university showed helmet wearing cyclists were more likely to be in serious accidents.

Very limited evidence they do much more than make people feel safer.

latebreakfast · 25/04/2020 23:20

OP, I guess you wear a helmet when walking or travelling by car? Far more pedestrians and car passengers receive head injuries than cyclists.

Personally I don't wear a helmet because I consider cycling to be a very safe activity. I've been cycling frequently for over 50 years and have perhaps fallen off a couple of times, slightly injuring my arms. Whereas walking in the snow and ice I have slipped over and hit my head many times.

The obsession with helmets in this country is more cultural than safety-based.

nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut · 25/04/2020 23:27

Their choice. I don't wear one and never have since I was about 9. Can't stand them. They make me sweat even in winter. I cant tolerate things round my head and neck and under my chin. Just get panicky and tear them off.

NoClarification · 25/04/2020 23:28

I was knocked over last year. My helmet hit the bonnet of the car. My head was fine. I would love to ask Henry Marsh why he thinks it would have been better for my head to have hit that bonnet directly? Because while it was a low speed accident - I probably wouldn't have been seriously injured even without a helmet- it still seems infinitely preferable to not hit your head on a car bonnet at 15mph, given the option of having something in between that takes the brunt of the blow.

By the by I found his books to be full of the worst kind of stereotypical macho surgeon self-aggrandizing. But for all his god complex, his head is made of the same flesh and blood as mine, and hitting it hard isn't a great idea even if you don't need neurosurgery as a result.

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