Helmets: the biggest threat to children's safety

[Cunobelin]

The helmet propaganda is so total, that there is no kind of cycle accident that cannot invoke comments about helmets.

Going back to my bad accident in 2008 when I slid down the road on my side after coming off at circa 30mph.

I was being patched up in hospital by the nurse (with Mrs Mick F in attendance), and nurse asked me if I was wearing a helmet. I was just about to jump down her throat to say that my head never even got anywhere near the road and it was my thigh and elbow she was patching up, when Mrs Mick F glared at me!

I did as I was told and kept shtum, but politely answered Yes. I did add - tactfully - that my head wasn't in danger and therefore the helmet question was a pointless one. Nurse said that all cyclists should wear helmets and they ask the question out of "policy".

I didn't argue as I was in a great deal of pain both from my injuries and from Mrs Mick F's glares!

I was at a training day on Evidence Based Practice when one of the lecturers decided to have a go at a young lad for not wearing a helmet on his bike when he cycled to the day. She was getting quite aggressive about it....

So I simply asked her what evidence she based this on, was it Rivara and Thompson, or the more up to date work of Thornhill which showed falls and alcohol were of far greater significance when you looked at head injury admissions.

Her answer was that she wasn't familiar with these and that it was "common sense"

Which left her open to the comment.. "So no evidence base at all then?"

I could have died from the looks I got for the rest of her session!

[Michael R]

sadly, it's not just peppa that has a helmet instead of a front brake

Tens years ago I nearly ran over a kid with a helmet and no brakes. He was with mummy of course. It was the nearest I had to taking out a cyclist in a car.

I nearly did the same yesterday when a cyclist suddenly fell off his bike in front of me when he was doing about 10mph

[pjclinch]

Most of the propaganda is from people doing it in a well-meaning way. That doesn't make it okay, but it does mean they might change tack a bit if confronted with suitable evidence.

I was fed up of my children being indoctrinated by their teachers that they should be wearing helmets and I went and Had Words with the HT and DHT, requesting that staff (and preferably other children too) specifically not tell my children something contrary to what their parents were telling them (which is that it doesn't matter and it's their choice), and I took Cyclecraft and Tim Gill's NCB report to back up my stance. And to their credit they agreed and last time my daughter's class had a road safety talk from their teacher it was actually said that it was down to individual choice and she was not told she was doing something wrong.

So take Cyclecraft and Cycling and Children and Young People to your children's school and show them they're not on safe ground selling helmets to kids with no reservations. Point out that the Cycling Scotland National Standards level 2 syllabus says trainers (and thus teachers supporting the programme) should highlight both pros and cons to support an informed decision in future.

Last week's job was getting the know-it-all peer to realise it was none of his business what other children (i.e., mine) wear when they're cycling. Again the school were quite good about supporting my kids in not accepting peer pressure from other children to change their behaviour. Quite possible not all schools will be as good, but if you don't ask you surely won't get.

Pete.