Oldjohnw wrote:I've often wondered why, since it is not compulsory in the UK to wear a helmet, and since to do so or to decline to do so is entirely voluntary, there is so much fuss.
You are being disingenuous I suspect.
You must be aware of campaigners who would like to make helmets mandatory.
There have been attempts in parliament to make wearing the law.
Several countries already have laws.
The pressure to persuade us into helmets is powerful.
Any cyclist on TV has to wear one.
It is becoming difficult to ride with a club bareheaded.
Any report of an accident to a cyclist includes the information about helmet wearing or absence.
Etc.Etc.
Those of us who have taken the trouble to find out the facts and as a result decided against helmet wearing can see the way the wind blows and fear compulsion.
Helmets are, as Boardman said, a distraction from doing what would actually work.
They are an alibi, to allocate the responsibility for dead and injured cyclists onto the cyclists themselves, rather than onto those who are responsible for dangerous road conditions.
And they have not achieved the putative end. In no country where a law has caused a large step change in wearing has there been a detectable change in injury rates.
So, when helmeteers stop making a fuss about the things, then we will stop making a fuss.