i am concerned about the way the media is emotionally blackmailing parents and carers into forcing children to wear helmets.i was very disturbed to see toddler cyclist wearing helmets in a nursary.
this crucial period of their development will be handicapped by helmet wearing,with dior consequencies in adulthood .beyond reasonable precautions you cannot protect children from their own recklesnes it is a natural part of growing up which we all go thru.
when young i fell out of a tree and broke my wrist(should children be forbidden from climbing trees?i.s it not better to teach them to climb trees safely)i took to wearing a leather wrist band (very cool).one day a teacher took me aside and explaind to me that by wearing the wrist band too much
the wrist would develope a dependency on it and would impede healing.
i am single and therefor have a detached view.but no child of mine would wear a helmet on a bike or any where else.
helmets.
Things may be changing.
Halfords (now the largest cycling retailer in UK) used to be supportive of compulsory helmets. They have just changed their policy to encouragement only. A recent Cochrane Database paper written by 2 helmet enthusiasts about the effects of helmet laws concludes the evidence is rather poor generally and the fall in injuries after helmet laws may be due to a reduction in cycling.
In Hoek van Holland the locals still enjoy the humerous sight of helmetted UK cyclists rolling off the boat to puzzled shakes of the head and glances skywards.
Halfords (now the largest cycling retailer in UK) used to be supportive of compulsory helmets. They have just changed their policy to encouragement only. A recent Cochrane Database paper written by 2 helmet enthusiasts about the effects of helmet laws concludes the evidence is rather poor generally and the fall in injuries after helmet laws may be due to a reduction in cycling.
In Hoek van Holland the locals still enjoy the humerous sight of helmetted UK cyclists rolling off the boat to puzzled shakes of the head and glances skywards.
My son is going on cub camp. To take part in the cycling activity you must wear a helmet. To pass the cyclists badge you must OWN a helmet but can borrow a bike and you do not actually have to ride it.
The council is about to run the Road Safety Course in the school but you can not attend it without a helmet also you are thrown off if your bike is not to regulations. The regs include that you must not have flashing lights, your seat must be at the same height as your bars, you must have no more than 2cm play in your chain, tyres can not be worn and many more.
I guess they dont want to waste time teaching road safety to the kids who would really benefit from it.
The council is about to run the Road Safety Course in the school but you can not attend it without a helmet also you are thrown off if your bike is not to regulations. The regs include that you must not have flashing lights, your seat must be at the same height as your bars, you must have no more than 2cm play in your chain, tyres can not be worn and many more.
I guess they dont want to waste time teaching road safety to the kids who would really benefit from it.
meic wrote:My son is going on cub camp. To take part in the cycling activity you must wear a helmet.
I suggest that you write to the cub leader and, if necessary, to the main organisation. Ask them: "On what research do you base this policy?" Most likely they won't have really thought about it too much. Most parents - also not having thought about it too much - will be grateful that the cubs have such a sensible requirement.
Keep writing until, eventually, they'll change their policy. If not, they may as well demand that every child brings an oxygen tent and a course of Tamiflu, - JUST TO BE SAFE!
The council is about to run the Road Safety Course in the school but you can not attend it without a helmet also you are thrown off if your bike is not to regulations. The regs include that you must not have flashing lights, your seat must be at the same height as your bars, you must have no more than 2cm play in your chain, tyres can not be worn and many more.
I guess they dont want to waste time teaching road safety to the kids who would really benefit from it.
Somewhere, wandering aimlessly about Whitehall, is the Minister for Social Exclusion, Hilary Armstrong. I don't know what she does for a living, but here is a wrong for her to right.
I don't suppose it would be possible for the council to accept all children, and then encourage them to learn how to maintain their bicycles. But the course must be lovely! Full of nice middle class children on their brand new Halfords bikes.
We need to encourage children to ask their own questions as well. Whenever a child asks me why I'm not wearing a helmet, I tell them that it is a waste of time ("Do you think it will save you when you go under the wheels of a lorry?"), and that they'd be better thinking about how to ride safely instead. Then I refer them to www.cyclehelmets.org , and I hope that they'll take the message back to their parents and teachers.
I'm thinking of printing some cards to give out on these occassions, and I'm hoping that cyclehelmets.org can put up a few child-friendly pages.
We need a war against pointless safety legislation. People should understand: OUR COUNTRY REALLY ISN'T THAT DANGEROUS! In fact, all these rules just stop people thinking, and blindly following procedures has far more dangerous consequences.
Sorry to go on!
-
Philip Benstead
- Posts: 2097
- Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 7:06pm
- Location: Victoria , London
Cyclist Training Course
Please could you send more details of this course, It may break the guildelines for the promotion of cyclist training
meic wrote:My son is going on cub camp. To take part in the cycling activity you must wear a helmet. To pass the cyclists badge you must OWN a helmet but can borrow a bike and you do not actually have to ride it.
The council is about to run the Road Safety Course in the school but you can not attend it without a helmet also you are thrown off if your bike is not to regulations. The regs include that you must not have flashing lights, your seat must be at the same height as your bars, you must have no more than 2cm play in your chain, tyres can not be worn and many more.
I guess they dont want to waste time teaching road safety to the kids who would really benefit from it.
Philip Benstead | Life Member Former CTC Councillor/Trustee
Organizing events and representing cyclists' in southeast since 1988
Bikeability Instructor/Mechanic
Organizing events and representing cyclists' in southeast since 1988
Bikeability Instructor/Mechanic
Bovlomov
I willl not be bothering the cub leader. She is just a pawn in the middle and it would be foolhardy of her to question such things unless she had a personal knowledge. On this particular camp I think they will be doing some rough riding and the organiser is a keen mountain biker and I wouldnt really argue with him if he said his course had a high risk and he wanted helmets. Also being a cub leader is really putting yourself in a high risk position and they need every bit of help they can get.
I think it could be worth CTCs time approaching the Scout organisation about cycle helmets.They are really undersiege with the threat of litigation and to put themselves on the line for not demanding helmets is a battle they are not ready to fight. If they could say they were not demanding helmets because of advice of a prominent cycling body they might stand a chance. It does say you should wear a helmet in the Highway Code and that would be hard to defend against in the civil court.
In my opinion it is a mistake to demand helmet ownership but I am not putting my neck on the line.
For the council course. We are good middle class parents and my son will attend the course on his Halfords bike. However the course is discredited in my eyes and I dont hide this from him. I hope he will learn some extra things from the course and balance between what I say and what they say.
However I have already told him I will not allow him to overtake cars as described in the brochure. My fear is that he will just decide that as they have said a few things that arent correct he will totally ignore everything they say.
I willl not be bothering the cub leader. She is just a pawn in the middle and it would be foolhardy of her to question such things unless she had a personal knowledge. On this particular camp I think they will be doing some rough riding and the organiser is a keen mountain biker and I wouldnt really argue with him if he said his course had a high risk and he wanted helmets. Also being a cub leader is really putting yourself in a high risk position and they need every bit of help they can get.
I think it could be worth CTCs time approaching the Scout organisation about cycle helmets.They are really undersiege with the threat of litigation and to put themselves on the line for not demanding helmets is a battle they are not ready to fight. If they could say they were not demanding helmets because of advice of a prominent cycling body they might stand a chance. It does say you should wear a helmet in the Highway Code and that would be hard to defend against in the civil court.
In my opinion it is a mistake to demand helmet ownership but I am not putting my neck on the line.
For the council course. We are good middle class parents and my son will attend the course on his Halfords bike. However the course is discredited in my eyes and I dont hide this from him. I hope he will learn some extra things from the course and balance between what I say and what they say.
However I have already told him I will not allow him to overtake cars as described in the brochure. My fear is that he will just decide that as they have said a few things that arent correct he will totally ignore everything they say.
meic,
I don't know the stats for off-road cycling. Perhaps that does make some sense.
The council course will have a lot a good advice, but it seems to be starting off on the wrong foot.
This is important. Assuming that children listen to anything adults say, what they learn from parents and teachers is that, above all, they must wear a helmet - even in the park. When children get on their bikes, they have learned to expect a lecture about wearing a helmet, but how many lectures do they get about checking their brakes?
All you can do as a parent is encourage him to think for himself. Teenage boys - he's not there yet! - are in the highest risk group, and many of their accidents are the result of bravado and plain idiocy. If your boy has little common sense he will be as safe as houses. Actually, a lot safer than houses (which are very dangerous places indeed!).
Middle class? Isn't EVERYONE on this forum middle class?
I don't know the stats for off-road cycling. Perhaps that does make some sense.
The council course will have a lot a good advice, but it seems to be starting off on the wrong foot.
My fear is that he will just decide that as they have said a few things that arent correct he will totally ignore everything they say.
This is important. Assuming that children listen to anything adults say, what they learn from parents and teachers is that, above all, they must wear a helmet - even in the park. When children get on their bikes, they have learned to expect a lecture about wearing a helmet, but how many lectures do they get about checking their brakes?
All you can do as a parent is encourage him to think for himself. Teenage boys - he's not there yet! - are in the highest risk group, and many of their accidents are the result of bravado and plain idiocy. If your boy has little common sense he will be as safe as houses. Actually, a lot safer than houses (which are very dangerous places indeed!).
Middle class? Isn't EVERYONE on this forum middle class?
You say teenage boys are the top risk group. That to me is the way it should be, I would be dissapointed if my son didnt get out and enjoy life.
I believe you have to let them learn by taking risks and being able to think for themselves. Too many kids are get wrapped up and restricted untill their 18th Birthday or 17 when they get loose in a car suddenly transformed overnight from incompetent incapable victim to incompetent incapable offender. The difficult path is to give them enough help (freedom) to get safely through it.
I remember my fear as I let him ride his bicycle on the pavement next to the main road when he was only 6. He survived but it was a very small risk of a very severe disaster. You just repeat it over and over again.
If you dont risk anything in life then you lose everything.
For now he listens to and believes what I say. I only hope I can get him to think for himself before it dawns on him that I am not perfect and am in fact the most stupid person on the planet (ie the parent of a teenager!)
I have mentioned before that despite my refusal to wear a helmet he always does wear one. Maybee his form of rebelion will be by conforming to popular norms. I think a lot of people will agree with my (and I think your) attitude but wont have the courage to stand up for themselves against the people who make judgements.
I believe you have to let them learn by taking risks and being able to think for themselves. Too many kids are get wrapped up and restricted untill their 18th Birthday or 17 when they get loose in a car suddenly transformed overnight from incompetent incapable victim to incompetent incapable offender. The difficult path is to give them enough help (freedom) to get safely through it.
I remember my fear as I let him ride his bicycle on the pavement next to the main road when he was only 6. He survived but it was a very small risk of a very severe disaster. You just repeat it over and over again.
If you dont risk anything in life then you lose everything.
For now he listens to and believes what I say. I only hope I can get him to think for himself before it dawns on him that I am not perfect and am in fact the most stupid person on the planet (ie the parent of a teenager!)
I have mentioned before that despite my refusal to wear a helmet he always does wear one. Maybee his form of rebelion will be by conforming to popular norms. I think a lot of people will agree with my (and I think your) attitude but wont have the courage to stand up for themselves against the people who make judgements.
meic wrote: I think a lot of people will agree with my (and I think your) attitude but wont have the courage to stand up for themselves against the people who make judgements.
In my more cynical moments I wonder whether the greatest fear that some parents have about their children isn't losing them as such, but the fear of what others would say.
But then, I don't have children, so it is easy for me to be casual about it.
Being serious: I am not dismissive of parents' fears - which are genuine. But the natural parental fears are constantly being fed and reinforced by a huge safety industry, which includes the media, schools, manufacturers, insurers, lawyers, bureaucrats and campaigners.
It must be hard, as a parent, to keep a sense of proportion amid this constant barrage. So I wish you luck with it!
-
Tallis the Tortoise
I remember the attitude of my school/sixth form (all those 3 years ago) to cycling to school: helmets and Sam Browne belts were very strongly recommended. They also told off one of my friends because his dark blue blazer wasn't visible under his dayglo yellow cycling jacket 
.
Also interesting, was to compare the injuries I got in 7 years cycling to school (very occassional cuts/grazes) to thos obtained by the school rugby team (who were generally loved by the headmaster).
Andy
.
Also interesting, was to compare the injuries I got in 7 years cycling to school (very occassional cuts/grazes) to thos obtained by the school rugby team (who were generally loved by the headmaster).
Andy
As a parent I am more worried about what other people will say. In particular I am worried by the threat of having the social services come after my child or the police prosecuting me for negligence.
Fortunately I am respectable, so if my kid has an accident then it will be bad luck. If someone a bit less educated lets their kids have an accident it is negligence.
We had to give a written request to the school bus company for our child to be allowed to get of the bus and walk 50m home on a pavement unattended. Other parents were quite shocked by our decision as it is almost certain that a peidophile will spot him and steal him on this walk.
In this climate it is hardly surprising that kids are forced to wear cycle helmets.
Fortunately I am respectable, so if my kid has an accident then it will be bad luck. If someone a bit less educated lets their kids have an accident it is negligence.
We had to give a written request to the school bus company for our child to be allowed to get of the bus and walk 50m home on a pavement unattended. Other parents were quite shocked by our decision as it is almost certain that a peidophile will spot him and steal him on this walk.
In this climate it is hardly surprising that kids are forced to wear cycle helmets.
I still think helmets for children who haven't mastered riding or are into off-roading is a good idea.
Whether we need to be paranoid about it or force ignorant parents to safeguard their inexperienced children is another matter which I am still undecided.
It's amazing to see how heated discussions like this get though.
Whether we need to be paranoid about it or force ignorant parents to safeguard their inexperienced children is another matter which I am still undecided.
It's amazing to see how heated discussions like this get though.
I am not heated about it unless somebody tells me I must wear a helmet.
I would have got heated about people demanding my son wear one but he chooses to wear one anyway.
The penalty for not wearing a motorcycle helmet is £50 yet it is one of the most fiercly enforced laws in Britain. Despite it being a lesser offence than parking it can activate a Police emergency response! A man called Fred Hill died in jail after refusing to wear a helmet and pay the fines.
So things certainly have the potential to get quite heated if we get compulsion or could it get treated as seriously as mobile phone usage then we could just carry on as before.
I would have got heated about people demanding my son wear one but he chooses to wear one anyway.
The penalty for not wearing a motorcycle helmet is £50 yet it is one of the most fiercly enforced laws in Britain. Despite it being a lesser offence than parking it can activate a Police emergency response! A man called Fred Hill died in jail after refusing to wear a helmet and pay the fines.
So things certainly have the potential to get quite heated if we get compulsion or could it get treated as seriously as mobile phone usage then we could just carry on as before.
Scouts
I have ben a leader for over 25 years, and regularly used to organise cycle events for te Scouts, and Cubs. We also used to organise a sponsored ride raging from 2 miles on cycle track (Beavers) to an 8 mile route for the adults.
THis used to gain the Group £400 - £500 per year.
Once the rules for helmets came in I have the choice of excluding the people who don't have helmets or nt doing the activities. I have been forced to choose the latter. the boys now often lack the skills they would have picked up from these sessions and the Group worse off financially. They have lost out in both cases.
Part of the problem is the Scout Asociation's poor knowledge of cycling and the issues involved.
Any organisation that expects the boys to change spokes, but not require them to be able to mend a puncture is unaware of the real world of cycling!
To run a slalom course, but have no requirement to demonstrate skills at a junction is also very naive.
What is even more worrying is that the link to road safety provided for cubs now states that you are incorrectly dressed for cycling if not wearing knee pads, elbow pads, helmet, gloves, and reflectives (at all times!)
www.hedgehogs.gov.uk
Now who is putting on their compulsory knee pads then?
THis used to gain the Group £400 - £500 per year.
Once the rules for helmets came in I have the choice of excluding the people who don't have helmets or nt doing the activities. I have been forced to choose the latter. the boys now often lack the skills they would have picked up from these sessions and the Group worse off financially. They have lost out in both cases.
Part of the problem is the Scout Asociation's poor knowledge of cycling and the issues involved.
The Scout must complete the following:
1. Own, or have used satisfactorily for at least six months, a bicycle properly equipped and in good working order.
2. Demonstrate an ability to carry out small general repairs, including at least four of the following, to the satisfaction of the assessor:
1. Replacement of a brake cable
2. Replacement of a worn chain
3. Replacement of a broken spoke
4. Removal and replacement of cranks or pedals
5. Adjustment of bearings and gears.
3. Complete all the requirements in one of the following alternatives:
Option A - On -road
1.Explain to the assessor what extra precautions should be taken when cycling in the dark or in wet weather conditions, including lights, reflectors, dynamos, and the additional time needed by those in motor vehicles to stop in the wet.
2. Demonstrate the ability to control a cycle through a slalom course.
3. Show an understanding of the Highway Code as it relates to cyclists including road signs and helmets.
4. Have a basic knowledge of First Aid and what to do in the case of accidents.
5. Have a sound knowledge of map reading, be able to estimate distances, identify countryside features and terrain and orientate a map using local geography and a compass.
6. Plan and carry out an all-day ride of not less than 40 kilometres (25 miles).
Any organisation that expects the boys to change spokes, but not require them to be able to mend a puncture is unaware of the real world of cycling!
To run a slalom course, but have no requirement to demonstrate skills at a junction is also very naive.
What is even more worrying is that the link to road safety provided for cubs now states that you are incorrectly dressed for cycling if not wearing knee pads, elbow pads, helmet, gloves, and reflectives (at all times!)
www.hedgehogs.gov.uk
Now who is putting on their compulsory knee pads then?