Cyclists have to ‘help themselves’ by wearing a helmet says Bradley Wiggins

Wiggo is entitled to his view, just like everyone else. No one in the UK is required to agree with him.

Nor does it make him a fool or a horrible person if he does not hold the same views as you or me.

This just makes me cross. Why?

After being hit head on by a motorist on the wrong side of the road I was left with a life changing brain injury. My helmet made piss all difference for two reasons.

1: My brain was shaken in the initial impact acceleration/deceleration. A helmet will not prevent this.

2: The selfish piece of human waste in his precious motor vehicle then gets out and in a bid to hide his actions drags me across the road to stage the scene as being my fault leaving my airway blocked. Result was a further hypoxic insult.

A helmet will not stop this either.

Wiggo has annoyed me with this, he can go training with escort vehicles around him. For the rest of us we are quite simply at the mercy of too many frankly bloody lethal people who know they can kill and maim with impunity...fact.

The latest example...a man with 42 points caught doing 109mph in a 50mph area along with other offences such as his mate giving a speed camera the finger and he avoids a ban. WTF.

A helmet is no good here. Sooner the government does the decent thing and just confirms its ok to kill cyclists rather than persist in this offensive charade of giving a shit the better.

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On the downhill bike you'd be dressed to crash with full face, body armour (often a spine protector) and knee / elbow guards under motorcross style clothing.

Risk compensation in action.
My DH racing friends always talked about getting armoured up and felt ... not invincible... but less damage prone... and so rode a lot faster when kitted out, leading to more severe injuries when they ran out of talent.

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So far I am now onto my fifth cycling helmet

I've had about 8 or 9 helmets and I've cracked one in 23 years. I think you're probably a wee bit clumsy.

I know of someone who read that a study in Australia showed that motorists drive more carefully when a cyclist is not wearing a helmet. Because of this he chooses never to wear a helmet.

I took a look at the study and it also said that drivers mere even more careful when those carrying out the study wore long blond wigs (male and female). He doesn't choose to wear such a wig ever.

People make the choices they are most comfortable with. I choose to wear a helmet as I don't feel comfortable without one. I feel exactly the same when I don't have spare tubes and a pump on me but I would never expect them to be compulsory.

Helmet wearing has almost certainly saved me from serious head injuries on a few occasions where my head has bounced off the ground with significant force.....If some people want freedom of choice not to wear a helmet then fine, I don't care for them. A strict nanny state is not a great thing, but don't berate and try your best to undermine people who express that helmet wearing is a fairly sensible option regardless of all the other issues surrounding cyclist safety .

Personally I have enough direct experience to know that wearing a helmet makes total sense without any significant detrimental side effects.

And for those who choose not to wear helmets, I am baffled by your position backed up by dubious evidence and contrived logic....who are you trying to convince....yourself?

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people who express that helmet wearing is a fairly sensible option regardless of all the other issues surrounding cyclist safety .

Fail.

You need to take time to understand the argument you are dismissing.

http://www.cyclehelmets.org/

'having an inch of protection is always going to help.'

jesus. No, no it isn't. No matter what the protection is - cotton, polystyrene, a kevlar shell with 40cm of cushioning inside - it's not *always* going to help. People talk so much shit online but helmet debates always bring out the very worst.

I have huge respect for Sir Bradley, but we should all remember that expertise and talent for one thing does not qualify you as an expert in everything.

Those of us long enough in the tooth might well remember a certain Brian Clough, who was an exceptional football manager. Unfortunately, he also had opinions on anything and everything, which were completely and utterly valueless, but the media kept publishing them. Eventually, he ended up looking very foolish indeed, and realised that he was being taken advantage of to sell newspapers.

Sir Bradley might like to reflect on that example and stop shooting his mouth off about things he evidently has no knowledge about. To make one mistake and be shot down in flames is forgiveable, but to repeat the error shows that you have learned nothing.

I want to see a Wiggins vs. Boardman debate about this!

Landing on your head will hurt, period; there's really no debate over that. With a helmet it might just be a touch less painful, but there's no certainty you'll walk away from it. I'm 100% against compulsion, as I believe in freedom of choice...and any law will also be unenforceable.

Of course you should wear a helmet if you're in any way likely to crash your head into concrete. However on the rare occasions I've not worn mine I've noticed a considerable increase in the amount of space motorists give me...?
The solution to me would seem to be to design an invisible helmet that motorists cannot see. A double winner; more space from large metal boxes and still a protected bonce if an unforced error on my part should occur.......

Helmets -

Needs a wee card with "Good question, I'll get back to you" on it. He clearly doesn't actually want to be discussing this "helmets and things" topic, really doesn't have to be a public health / transport expert.

I really love the thoughts of Sir Bradley Wiggins. He gave great advice to all of us. Special thanks to Sir Bradley Wiggins.

Does anybody have the figures for Pedestrian head injuries ? I am just thinking about all the cracks in the pavements or those slippery marbled steps in front of some buildings.

I am thinking also people like myself who are a bit older, some of us aren't as strong and as balanced as we used to be when we are walking, there's a big chance that we could trip.

That said what about youngsters running around with lots of energy what if they fall. ! !

I am really worried for Pedestrians I think it's time that a law was made to have all pedestrians wearing helmets.

The pavements are getting busier surely there is a celebrity speed walker out there that can use his/her influence to push a helmet law for pedestrians ?

Hypocrite
...Hypocrite
......Hypocrite
..........Hypocrite

Hypocrite
****Hypocrite
*********Hypocrite
**************Hypocrite

The thing about being a celebrity is that they say something and it's taken all wrong by the media and reported as something they didn't mean.

Will we be seeing the paperazzi stalking Bradley now for that photo of him popping down the shops on his bike for a loaf of bread and a pint of milk. BUT NOT WEARING HIS HELMET.

The right not to wear a helmet should be supported as much as the safety reason why you should wear a helmet.

Could anyone tell me (silly question, of course they will) where all these anti helmet cyclists ride? because where i ride it's very very rare i ever see a cyclist without a helmet! But as soon as a post or article goes live they seem to be everywhere, do they just sit in front of their computers waiting for the chance to pounce on us misinformed helmet wearers instead of riding their bikes, numbers of non helmeted riders on the roads where i ride suggest this. Compulsory helmet wearing not sure? riders make their own choice on safety, each to their own, and i'm not against anti helmet wearing cyclists whatsoever before you start.

mark shelton wrote:

Could anyone tell me (silly question, of course they will) where all these anti helmet cyclists ride?

A34 / A6 in Manchester, every morning and every evening and then various places around Manchester as and when.

Please feel free to say hello if you're ever passing or being passed.

Just be wary not to get me confused with the many others that ride a similar route and also don't wear helmets.

Hope this helps.

I ride in the Wye Valley mostly, but have done extended sojourns in The Chilterns and the Peak District, again, feel free to say hello, I am out a lot.

But if you do choose to be one of those helmet wearers who have to go out of your way to talk to me at traffic lights, or riding the other way, and inform me of how I should be wearing a helmet, please keep that to yourself, it is starting to really annoy me!

My recent favourite was a pair of cyclist going the other way who chose to bang on their helmets when I said hi as I went by, it is no wonder they needed head protection if that is how they treat their heads!

and in amongst the usual dreary mumblings that constitute any and all helmet threads, the use of the phrase 'extended sojourns' sheds a little ray of light.

I ride with and without helmets, if I'm with others, I usually use one to avoid the inevitable questioning. Solo, I tend not to bother, or if riding with other folk who don't usually wear them.
Dripping with sweat in summer, bit of a faff in winter compared to caps or hats.

“I think cyclists have to help themselves in terms of wearing helmets and things,” says Sir Bradley Wiggins. “I think that probably should go some way to becoming the law soon.”

What are these 'things' he speaks of?
Capes, clown shoes, bald wigs under the 'helmets'....

I have nothing to add to this debate, just felt a bit left out.

I have to agree with Wiggo. I was actually pushed off my bike by a driver who got out of his car and came up behind me. The 'push' was hard enough to cause me to fall almost 'prone' and the side of my head to strike the pavement. Such an impact could have fractured my skull but for my helmet. I was unconscious for over 20 minutes and suffered serious long term concussion but I'm alive. Due to the lack of a reliable witness the driver wasn't charged and I was told that if I had not been wearing a helmet it's unlikely the driver would have been even charged with anything more serious if my skull had been fractured or I'd died. We have little legal protection from people driving on the road or the road itself, our only option is to wear a helmet.

My helmet undoubtedly saved my life following a crash on ice two years ago but then again, I find it liberating to take it off when I am on a steady climb up a quiet hill. It's a personal choice given the circumstances.

More infuriating than either the helmet evangelists (the side I probably lean more towards) and the ardent anti-helmet brigade are those people I see riding around with their helmets on with the straps undone. Unless they've glued the inside to their scalp, I have to really wonder at their understanding of the physics involved in any incident that might lead to a helmet being useful.

Cycling back with the GF from the theatre on Saturday night, and she made quite a revealing observation: the vast majority of people she sees RLJing in London are wearing helmets. This was after a young helmet wearing lad had cut us both up and jumped lights (not even amber gambling but middle of a red sequence)

If thats down to increased risk taking/risk management, would require a study but something Im going to watch for now.

The most depressing thing about the whole helmet debate is that of all the things policy makers could do with regards to cycling in the UK it would probably be the least effective with regards to cycling safety and increasing the number of people cycling on the road. But as it is the easiest thing for them to do it is the most likely thing they will do, especially if people like Wiggo keep banging on about it.