[Closed] Helmet why ISSNT it illegal to not were one?

Oi, stop forcing me to have a free choice

Please report dp

Mrs TJ = SWMBO

Hmm, tricky. Can I take the not hurt at all by avoiding the incident option?

Does wearing a helmet prevent you from avoiding the incident?

Why don't they make wearing helmets compulsory the amount of times I've been out riding and seeing people on proper Mtb trails with no helmet on what idiots!
Surely its a no brainier to make it illegal to not were one and why do kids think it cool to not were one?!

Well, clearly they're surviving quite well without their helmets, maybe it's not as dangerous as you think?

aracer - Member
If the OP likes I could put him in touch with this chap who would clearly appreciate being told why he should wear a helmet
[img] [/img]
POSTED 11 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

a good point wasn't TJ banned from STW for refusing to wear a helmet? 😉

...remember folks being cool on the trails may impact your choice of social media!

TJ is probably reading this you know 😉

Careful if you post his picture three times in one thread then he emerges from a miniaturised version of Scotland at stw towers.

TJ is probably reading this you know

[img] [/img] to TJ

I've ridden on the back of TJ's ugly-looking gate. We both wore helmets for the event. We both fell off. You can tell me the helmets saved our lives if you like.

I miss him.

You have photos of TJs helmet? 😯

[sarcasm]Perhaps when we go out, we should all go out in full downhill body armour. After we might scrape our knees or elbows when we fall off 🙄 [/sarcasm]

OP is probably still writing letters (in CAPITALS, green ink, [u]underlined[/u]) to the Beeb, having seen Chris Boardman riding through Manchester without a lid, commenting on urban safety.

OP is probably still writing letters (in CAPITALS, green ink, underlined) to the Beeb, having seen Chris Boardman riding through Manchester without a lid, commenting on urban safety.

Saw the comments on Twitter people were going into meltdown over it. Typical knee jerk, risk averse reactions. I was glad he did it, the message should be that cycling is NOT dangerous and that all road users should look out for each other. In the rest of Europe people use cycles as a normal everyday form of transport and do not need to wear helmets or hi-vis.
The cause of the problem needs to be tackled (i.e. poor standards by those using the roads) not passing the onus on to the potential victims.

Wearing a helmet and crashing
[img][url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3313/3218281522_31f680c232.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3313/3218281522_31f680c232.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/31623992@N05/3218281522/ ]TJ Wipes-out[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/31623992@N05/ ]paul.newman4279[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Not wearing a helmet, but not crashing
[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2686/4022039592_0b1c5e7081.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2686/4022039592_0b1c5e7081.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/31623992@N05/4022039592/ ]Tandem leaving Fealar Lodge[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/31623992@N05/ ]paul.newman4279[/url], on Flickr

I love this great country where we have the 'freedom' of Choice .... 'sometimes' 😆

Ive crashed and hit my head several times. Not every time but it does happen. Be smart and wear a helmet. But wait... if you want to follow the fashion/hipster brigade go a head and ride without a helmet in your imortal bubble of ignorance. Riding without a helmet is natures way of wiping out all the stupid genes.

Riding without a helmet is natures way of wiping out all the stupid genes.

As is walking and taking a shower without one and driving without one

Be safe out there...but only selectively

I really don't know how all us as kids Survived our Bmx years 79\83 without helmets? No one wore helmets for riding back then.
and I wouldn't mind BUT most of the Mtb helmets hardly cover the head anyways.
oh and just a thought, IF it was all about safety then shouldn't any protective clothing/pads/helmets/eyewear/be cheap enough for Everyone to afford?

aP - Member
Riding without a helmet is natures way of wiping out all the stupid genes.

Really?
I wore a helmet to cycle with the club yesterday.
I didn't wear one on my commute today, neither have I done on my commute for several years. Maybe I can't be all that stupid?

Lets face it modern non full face helmets are not uncomfortable to wear.

So you maybe you are stupid, maybe you are not.

Maybe you just get a kick out of not wearing a helmet and increasing your exposure to risk.

[EDIT] OR maybe you like sticking your fingers up and saying I can do what I want FU...

[quote=fr0sty125 ]Lets face it modern non full face helmets are not uncomfortable to wear.

So presumably you wear one whilst walking, driving and in the shower. Or are you too stupid to do that?

Saw this video of Utrecht rush hour linked to in an article in another thread...

See if you can spot anyone wearing a helmet.

helmets make excellent battering rams for clearing shared use paths of the hoipoloi

Sorry this a bit long but I thought it would be better than a link:

[i]What evidence is there that cycle helmets reduce serious injury?

There have been many predictions that cycle helmets are effective in reducing serious injuries. Most of these predictions come from case-control studies, which are based on small research populations and have been criticised for methodological limitations.

On the other hand, large population data, from sources such as traffic casualty statistics and hospital treatment records, do not support these predictions. These sources show no improvement in serious injury trends as helmet use has become more common. Indeed, sometimes they suggest that the number or severity of injuries has increased.

In Great Britain, there was no detectable improvement in fatalities, serious injuries or the average severity of injuries to cyclists over the period 1985 to 2001, during which helmet use rose from close to zero to approx 22%. Injury severity increased as helmet use became more common (BHRF, 1071). A study of road traffic casualties has found no association between differing patterns of helmet wearing rates and casualty rates for adults and children. Similarly, boys and girls have identical percent head injury rates but markedly different levels of helmet use (Hewson, 2005; Hewson, 2005b).

In Greater London, cyclist injuries became more serious as helmet use increased in the mid 1990s (BHRF, 1072). In 2001, although about half of cyclists wore helmets, the severity of injuries was significantly higher than in 1981 and fatalities were highest since 1989. In Edinburgh, also with approx 50% helmet wearing, casualties have become more serious as helmet use has increased (BHRF, 1247). In the Lothian region (close to Edinburgh), wearing a helmet has made no significant difference to outcome in the case of the more serious head injuries measured by need of follow-up or hospital admission (Scottish Exec, 2005).

In the USA, cyclists suffered more head injuries in 2001 than in 1991 although helmet use had increased from 18% to 50%. There is no clear information that cycle use increased during this period and some evidence that it may have fallen. (BHRF, 1041)

In Australia, helmet laws caused head injuries to fall by 11% to 21%. But cycle use fell by 30% to 60%, suggesting that those who continued to cycle were more at risk (BHRF, 1096). In New Zealand, large increases in helmet use have not brought any reduction in the proportion of serious head injuries. Some reduction in mild concussions and lacerations has been balanced by an increase in neck injuries (##10017). An analysis of enforced helmet laws in Australia, New Zealand and Canada has found no clear evidence of benefit and increased risks for cyclists post-legislation (Robinson, 2006).

Analysis by Erke and Elvik, 2007 showed an increased accident risk per cycling-km for cyclists wearing a helmet. In Australia and New Zealand the increase was estimated to be around 14%.

In Germany, research found no significant difference in the level of head-trauma in cycling crashes between cyclists who wore a helmet and those who did not (Möllman, Rieger and Wassmann, 2004).

More generally, concerns have been expressed that helmets may increase the risk of the most serious types of head injury typical of road crashes and which involve rotational forces (BHRF, 1039).[/i]

Most of you guys knew the OP was young and new to the forum. There's no need to act like a bunch of pricks all the time.

Also the OP asked about 'on the trails' rather than on the road. So while still a daft idea most of your arguments are moot.

Who do you think is acting like a prick, Euro? Should we just accept his fallacious arguments and say "yes, well done" because of his age?

Only if you agree with him aracer. If you disagree you could maybe try being polite (using the Queens' english of course). If my son had asked the same question, face to face, and he was told to **** off, you'd need more than a helmet to save you 😀

The Police can't enforce the current road laws, let alone hiding behind every tree in the countryside trying to catch the odd Mountain Biker who rides past without a helmet on.

Where do you draw the line as off road, Bridleway, BOAT, Restricted Byway, some obscure trail created in a wood only used by MTBer's, Bike park or the middle of the Brecon Beacons.
I was out on Friday night, came across a guy on a MTB on a bridleway, in cycling clothes in the pitch black no lights or a helmet, that is his look out.

Way back in the 90's a top downhiller was asked why they did not wear body armour, their response was a good one, because I have one run and to win I have to finish, if I wear body armour, it gives me a false sense of safety, I will take more risks and increase my chances of crashing and not finishing.

First helmets then, gloves, knee pads, elbow pads, back protectors, glasses etc etc. I wear a helmet, glasses & gloves on trails because that is the level of protection I feel the need to ride in, yet I have ridden the same trails as some dressed up like storm troopers.

[quote=Euro ]Only if you agree with him aracer. If you disagree you could maybe try being polite (using the Queens' english of course). If my son had asked the same question, face to face, and he was told to * off, you'd need more than a helmet to save you

So answer my question - who told him to * off as you put it?

Not as i put it - read the first reply.

Maybe i'm mistaking * off for * off, which to be fair, is very easily done. If * was actually * then i ****ing apologise.

If my son had asked the same question, face to face...

Hmm, but you suggested we were a bunch of pricks, I was expecting you to find more than one (who we all just ignored).

Midland, you made a little typo there. It's like raaaain on your weddin' day.

See aracer, including me, that's at least two. Does that class as a (small) bunch?

OK, that's a small bunch. Fair point then, I hope you (and umop3pisdn) are going to take your own advice.

Though I am enjoying the irony of comparing Graham's typo with a song which contains no irony...

aracer - Member

So presumably you wear one whilst walking, driving and in the shower. Or are you too stupid to do that?

Slightly different risk profiles

For a start when you are in a car you already have a lot of protection around you.

When walking or in a shower you are in control of the situation. When cycling on a road you have ****s who drive dangerously and can crash into you.

When walking or in a shower you are in control of the situation. When cycling on a road you have **** who drive dangerously and can crash into you.

You're only looking at the magnitude and source of the risk, not the likelyhood.

I think his point was that you're probably far more likely to suffer a head injury in the shower than you are on a bike. Therefore it makes more sense to wear the helmet in the shower than on the bike, or for both, but saying you should wear one fro cycling and not I the shower is illogical. The odds of being in an accident on the roads are still mercifully very small.

fr0sty125 - Member

When walking or in a shower you are in control of the situation. When cycling on a road you have **** who drive dangerously and can crash into you.

drivers give helmet-less cyclists more room...

(and, when i'm inevitably taken out by a motor-cock, i don't expect my polystyrene hat to help me one iota)

Nice bit by Chris Boardman today.
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/campaigning/article/20141103-campaigning-news-Boardman--Why-I-didn-t-wear-a-helmet-on-BBC-Breakfast-0

It seems a good time to mention this, perhaps the OP might look...

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/dodgy-asa-ruling-overturned

Midland, you made a little typo there

I've had a life altering head injury, and usually wear a helmet whether cycling on or off road.

However, I'll argue for freedom of choice but I won't argue for compulsory helmet wearing.

clearly put case for nonsense of compulsory helmets

And

https://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2014/11/04/headways-brick-wall/

When walking or in a shower you are in control of the situation. When cycling on a road you have **** who drive dangerously and can crash into you.

Alcohol, elderly people, toddlers! Maybe they should all wear helmets! 😯

We have a problem in this Country that has got worse and worse and that is people cannot accept responsibilities for their own actions, so they have to find someone else to blame, for their own failings. The victim, the authorities, the weather, anything except themselves.

I recently saw a report where a Road Safety officer for a Fire Brigade, called for compulsory cycle helmets. This was due to his young daughter being knocked over by a van. The best bit of it was that his daughter at the time was crossing the road on a Pedestrian crossing, on her bike. Yet he didn't make any reference to the driver, who was clearly in the wrong.