[Closed] Have we done Wiggle backing compulsory helmet laws yet?

Yeah, but Wiggle call brake discs 'rotors', so I'm out.

I see the screencap from Wiggle also uses the old seatbelts have saved 50'000 lives lie.

An existing downward trend in road deaths stopped in 1983 when the front seatbelt law was introduced.

[img] [/img]

http://www.john-adams.co.uk/2009/11/05/seat-belts-another-look-at-the-data/

So 14 lives saved per year.

Less than that in fact because of those 100 deaths per year, a number of them will already have been wearing helmets.

The reduction in the percentage of the public cycling if a compulsory helmet law is enforced isn't due to them being considered "unfashionable", it's due a perception that cycling is dangerous without a helmet. Watch this, wear a helmet if you want, but don't encourage others to do so.

[img] [/img]

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/have-we-done-wiggle-backing-compulsory-helmet-laws-yet/page/2

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wiggo-on-helmets

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/how-do-you-deal-with-folk-not-wearing-a-helmet

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bike-helmet-for-kids

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-helmet-debate-rumbles-on-in-the-mainstream-media

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/would-you-helmet-nazi-content#post-3139927

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-another-study-on-the-efficacy-of-bike-helmets#post-3128520

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/thank-god-for-helmets#post-3071801

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/so-i-decided-to-write-off-my-helmet-today#post-3015561

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/will-the-uk-every-be-like-this#post-3001646

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/no-helmet#post-2983986

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/my-helmet-is-very-deformed-graphic-photo-content#post-2963127

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-woman-who-tragically-died-in-dent-on-the-letjog-ride#post-2956453

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/helmets-2#post-2941835

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclist-hit-15-times-with-hammer-by-driverfor-riding-too-slow-up-a-hill#post-2943106

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/this-really-makes-you-want-to-wear-a-lid#post-2919841

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/good-or-bad-advert#post-2894537

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/james-cracknell-wear-a-helmet-video#post-2783611

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bmxers-idiots#post-2758996

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/motorcyclist-protesting-helmet-laws-dies-in-bike-crash-while-not-wearing-helmet/page/3

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/helmet-compulsion-again

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wear-a-helmet-kids#post-2705179

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-helmet-debate-on-radio-2-now#post-2584202

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/if-helmets-were-to-be-made-compulsory#post-2573922

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/helmet-on-your-child-always#post-2482018

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/some-very-sad-news#post-2476001

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-great-helmet-debate#post-2432920

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/kids-cycling-to-school-without-helmets-is-it-me-or#post-2368335

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/compulsory-helmet-law-in-ni#post-2236497

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/how-smug-will-tj-be

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/helmets-possibly-the-last-word

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-else-hear-peter-thatchel-on-jeremy-vine-calling-for-compulsary-helmets/page/2

God I'm so bored of these endless anti-helmet debate debates.

Can you give it a rest kcr? Please?

You're not going to change anyone's opinion.

😉

I live and work in oz (Perth) at the moment, cycle commuting is prevalent. There are dedicated cycle paths so I barely come in contact with cars on my 8km commute in to the city. 99% of people wear helmets. Its compulsory and enforceable by law over here, and you know what...

YOU NEVER HEAR ANYONE COMPLAINING...

I think a more important thing to be arguing, complaining and making a massive fuss over would be road safety and better provision of cycle ways for cyclists. If a fraction of the effort of arguing about bloody helmets on here went in to emailing your MP's and trying to get things changed maybe less people would end up landing on their heads in the first place!

YOU NEVER HEAR ANYONE COMPLAINING...

So people who still cycle don't complain about helmets.
Perhaps you should be asking the people who [i]don't[/i] cycle?

Last I heard cycling levels in Australia were still falling, particularly amongst children:
http://road.cc/content/news/96884-levels-cycling-falling-australia-according-national-survey

And some academics were calling for the law to be repealed for a trial period:
http://road.cc/content/news/21503-strewth-aussie-academic-calls-repeal-countrys-compulsory-bike-helmet-laws

If a fraction of the effort of arguing about bloody helmets on here went in to emailing your MP's

I'm a member of the CTC, I volunteer and donate to Sustrans, and I'm a member of my local cycle campaign. I've emailed my MP a few times (he is a cyclist as well and spoke well at the recent Get Britain Cycling debate in parliament).

I've emailed my MP a few times (he is a cyclist as well and spoke well at the recent Get Britain Cycling debate in parliament

Lucky you. Mine is an ex director of car manufacturers. I've emailed him a few times, but only because he didn't reply to the first two emails! He didn't reply to the third either so I gave up.

It's not all good bails. He's still a Tory 😀

D'you know, me and my poor little brain have been thinking about this all night. 🙁 I'm still uncomfortable with the idea that there's a level of head-related fatality that's acceptable as a consequence of getting people riding bikes. 🙁

Last I heard cycling levels in Australia were still falling, particularly amongst children

I'm still uncomfortable with the idea that there's a level of head-related fatality that's acceptable as a consequence of getting people riding bikes.

Take helmets out of the equation then and see if it makes sense:
Are you comfortable with the idea that if people have active healthy lifestyles then a small number of them will get hurt and possibly even die while pursuing those lifestyles?

e.g. Some people will break their neck mountain biking. Does that put you off promoting mountain biking as a fun healthy hobby?

Which has nothing to do with an increase in traffic and parents terrified to let their kids out of their sight.

Yeah that's exactly the point I'm making though.

It promotes a culture of fear. Some parents are too terrified to let their kids ride bikes and part of the reason for that is the perception that riding a bike is so incredibly dangerous that it requires mandatory safety equipment at all times by law.

Are you comfortable with the idea that if people have active healthy lifestyles then a small number of them will get hurt and possibly even die while pursuing those lifestyles?

I know it's argued that the risk is that people will be less healthy if they decide not to ride because helmets are compulsory, but is there any likelihood of the aforementioned people already being fairly healthy to start with? My thinking being, a compulsory helmet law is unlikely to make any difference to people leading an unhealthy lifestyle anyway, as I don't think it's the helmets/perceived danger that's putting them off.

It's hard to say, but what we do know is that "too dangerous" feature prominently when you ask people why they don't cycle, especially if we talk about cycling on the road.

[img] ?itok=GPeZO4a6[/img]
http://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/wiki/barriers-cycling

This report is a very illuminating read:
http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/50409/1/Understanding_Walking_Cycling_Report.pdf

Hmm, those ARE interesting - thanks for posring. 🙂 9% of all journeys in Sweden and Finland are cycled, compared to 1.5% here? I wouldn't have expected that, them Nordics are made of stern stuff! 🙂