Cheshire Police tell teens to wear helmets and employ ‘reflective equipment’

What concerns me is that they're spending time and effort to inform the kids about safety and not spending equivalent time and effort to inform motorists about keeping cyclists safer. I'd be interested to see their accident statistics with regard to the kids on bikes. How many of those accidents could have been avoided if car drivers had better awareness and how many times were helmets not used when they would have helped?

Personally, I almost always wear a helmet as it makes you look more like a 'proper' cyclist (and my wife used to nag me when I didn't wear one). I'm not convinced that cycle helmets do much to protect, but I'd rather be wearing one just in case. Whenever I've come off my bike, it's always my hands that take the brunt of the impact, so I'm convinced that gloves are far more important than a helmet in reducing injury.

On the bright side at least helmets are cheap and easy to fit. Spare a thought for all those Cheshire residents trying to find eleven finger gloves for their cycling this winter.

Yawns, moves on...

Shame they've got no interest in pursuing the drivers who put the cyclists in danger. Video supplied, usual off-hand, excusing response.

Is there any evidence helmet manufacturers are backing charities promoting helmet wearing? I ask because it strikes me most also sell other cycling goods, surely if helmets were mandatory, cycling numbers would decline and they would loose out because sales of their other products would decline.

I work in pathology and in the mid eighties I was at a talk given by a local Pathologist which covered amongst other things road fatalities. He was very pleased with the introduction of compulsory helmets for motocyclists, he reckoned they didn't save lives. What they did do was save hours of scraping up brain from the road, and even had a convenient carry handle.

Cheshire Constabulary have such an in-depth understanding of cycling. Last year one of them pulled our club run over one sunday afternoon and proceeded to tell us that we were causing an obstruction by riding 2-abreast. We pointed out to him the logic of riding 2-abreast & how it was easier for drivers to overtake. To his credit he did admit he had never thought of it like that and that he could see our point, but said he still thought we were causing an obstruction. We pointed out that the only obstruction was being caused by a police car and 10 cyclists parked at the side of the road approaching a bend. Eventually he buggered off to find something else to do and we continued on our way.

I get bored with this. Having being concussed twice, due to crashes when racing (no helmets required then), I always wear a bike helmet. It won't save me if I'm hit up the arse at 70 mph but (hopefully) it will save the inconvenience caused to the medical people if I fall off of my own accord at 16 mph and help me retain my dashingly good looks

"Please promote your children to wear helmets, they are reasonably priced considering how they can help keep you alive/safe"

I have recently promoted my daughter to Lance Corporal. Is there a minimum rank to which she should be promoted to wear a helmet?

As for reasonably priced... children are anything but reasonably priced. All that taking the lady out for drinks and dinner, the engagement ring, the wedding then when the sprog comes along you have to pay a fortune on them. I don't know who she will save my life or keep me safe either as she's only six. I think some clarification is required.

It is concerning to see this morning the amount of motor vehicle drivers speeding, using handheld devices and generally not obeying the laws of the land.

We as part of the emergency services, see how driving a motor vehicle within the law can and does reduce the likelihood of having a crash and injuring or killing someone.

Driving within the law may not be glamorous, but it does help everybody to get where they're going safely.

Appearance after an accident can be life changing.

Please promote anyone you know who drives, to drive within the law, so that everyone has more of a chance of reaching their destination in one piece. Think of all the time and money that would be saved if there weren't crashes caused by people doing something they shouldn't be whilst driving.

So can Cheshire Police back up their statement with some statistics? How many teenagers end up in hospital each morning as a result of falling off a bicycle? (answer: virtually none)

As usual a pointless directive based on no evidence whatsoever.

The reality is that the vast majority of head injuries occur in the home, playgrounds and in motor vehicles. So this is the group who should be targeted to wear 'safety' helmets.

Sadly Hector, your friend would have died even if he had been wearing a helmet. Cycle helmets are not designed to protect under those circumstances. They will only protect against minor injuries in low speed impacts. Helmets DO NOT save lives. This is a fallacy promoted through ignorance. Wouter Weylandt was wearing a helmet, it probably killed him.

Somewhat oddly-worded? The post makes perfect sense. I'll explain. Cheshire police, while not wearing helmets, are concerned by the number of young teenagers riding their bikes to school. They've witnessed that donning protective head gear makes people shorter or of reduced physical appearance. They claim that helmets are a temporary safety measure and although they do not state when they become ineffective they clearly do, so be warned. Now, in order to wear a helmet you have to promote your children. I imagine making a banner with a picture of your offspring listing their good points will do. If you don't have children, fear not, Cheshire police say they're reasonably priced and worth having because they help you keep alive/safe. Simples.

As always with contentious issues that are not enshrined in law (yet) we have the right to suit ourselves. The problem with juveniles is they don’t have a lifetime of experience to guide them, and they are more likely to be larking around on their bikes too and accidents will happen.
I started riding a bike when my age was in single figures and did not have the option of a helmet – I only started wearing one thirty years later when my friend lost a wheel on gravel (at 2-3MPH) hit a kerbstone and died; a freakish but repeatable accident – he was 39.
Everyone has a story and I heard them all during the motorcycle helmet debate decades ago, but the simple matter is: helmets save lives. Not all lives and a proportion of survivors may still have brain injury even though they were wearing a helmet but you can make statistics prove anything. Why you would want to risk death or worse: living on as a burden to people around you when wearing a helmet would at least give you a chance, is beyond me but is a matter of choice once you are old enough to make your own mind up. Riding my motorcycle at 50MPH with a helmet is often less than exhilarating, riding my bikes at 50MPH whilst wearing a helmet I’m barely conscious of is anything but boring – a helmet does not spoil the experience. Children need to be given sound advice that may save their lives so that they can cycle into their sixties and beyond – I was just lucky and I’m still pretty and have all my own teeth.

It's heartening that there are enough kids riding to school to constitute a 'concern'.

'takes two alka seltzer...plink plink fizz'
If I'd fallen off my bike without a helmet, my headache *would* have been a lot less than the one I have now having read some of those comments....
Over bearing, over protective, misinformed...and that's from both sides...moral crusaders in majority...and mainly anecdotal response...
...oh an BTW i choose to wear a helmet before anyone asks, but I believe in having the right to choose whether that happens. If my kids are out on bikes on main roads, with me, then they also wear helmets (their choice)...but for scooting about and around the home/surrounds then they usually don't...I used to jump 20 feet off of tree branches/walls roofs etc as a kid, tumbling/summersaulting...landing on my head more often than I care to remember...I'm still here (more anecdotal riposte)....if only society put more calorie into ensuring a safe road/infrastructure...maybe the helmet debate might fizzle away, much like the alka seltzer did...

I had to visit Facebook to read the comments, oh my!

I love how they just shout down anyone who tries to have a sensible conversation about not wearing helmets.

“It's concerning to see this morning the amount of young teenagers riding their bikes to school, with no helmet, or reflective equipment."

It's also concerning to see the number of cockwombles in cars speeding, and then parking on double yellows at the school gates

I wish I didn't have to wear a helmet.

That would mean our roads were safer and I had dedicated cycling space. It would mean that drivers would understand that because I'm cycling I'm actually keeping the roads quieter for them.

Oh goody, another lid debate.

Think I'll go and bang my head on my desk until it all goes away.

Let me just get my helmet.

Some of the facebook comments are priceless.....