Some common sense on the subject from a Government Minister - about time too.

Not a lot to shout about in politics today, good to see that there is still some common sense about. Totally agree.

Our Club had a rider out with us on Sunday past who clipped wheels with another rider, crashed and his helmet smashed into pieces.

I dread to think what would have happened if he didn't have one on.

Would you let your own kids go out withought one?

Didn't think so.

Wise up and use your head before you damage it Norman.

I have come off my bike recently and my helmet came off alot worse than me - however this is not the point - the fact is I have the choice whether i want to wear one or not.

Everyone who rides a bike will have 'horror stories' where they have seen examples of the helmet doing its job. In Sydney (or NSW in general) for example, you cannot ride a bike on the road without a helmet. Club members wouldn't even allow me to ride across a car park without one on. To me it is my right whether i choose to protect my own head - much the same its the choice of the individual whom chooses to smoke. You dont smoke and not know the implications.

Thankfully its still my choice what i do to protect myself on the roads - and i think this choice should be protected.

@ Kingsmoss CC

I tell you what, you make it a rule in your club to wear a helmet on rides and let everyone else make their own decision.

I bet you are one of the types who riddled with hypocrisies, just need someone to point them out to you!

Im an adult and I can make my own decisions. Yes I do wear a helmet if you are wondering....

Why is it the law to wear seatbelts and use lights at night? He's a numbskull and that is what he'll have if he comes a cropper. Make it the law to wear helmets! NHS cutbacks? Save the NHS money by making helmets mandatory.

Listen to you all, you sound like the bloody yanks talking about seat belts or the fat kipper tie wearing smokers in this country from 1970's who campaigned against the change in the seat belt laws. None of you would dream of getting in a car without a seat belt and in a car you now have crush zones and air bags to protect you.

You don't wear a helmet, more of you die or need serious treatment in hospital which eventually puts a burden on the NHS and the claim culture, putting up both your National Insurance and private bike or life insurance costs, so then you'll all start winging about that.

It's this 'it's my right' attitude, whether it's wearing a helmet or riding where and how you like that does nothing for our straining relationship with the rest of society.

It makes sense to wear a helmet, it makes even more sense to teach our children to wear a helmet and lead by example. Just one awkward knock in the simplest of falls is all it takes to kill you, that invariably won't be the cause of the rider.

A helmet saved my life and if you are going to be ignorant to the fact that they are there to save your life then yes the law needs to be changed to force you to wear a helmet and leave the hospitals to deal with the sick and the lawyers to deal with the criminals instead of trying to stitch your heads back together !

Obviously it's a good idea to wear a helmet, the advantages vastly outway the disadvatages. But this is about having the choice to wear a helmet or not. I think it's completely your decision and you can choose to wear one or not.

No, there is no choice. Just wear a bloody helmet. As I said, you wouldn't get in a car and not wear a seat belt becuase you know it's dangerous. Well it's a lot more dangerous on a bike, mainly becuase of motor vehicles.

You won't see a down hill mountain biker without a helmet, and almost all other mounatin bike users wear a helmet becuase it's perceived as more dangerous. Yet on a road bike, where the majority of the none helmet wearing riders are you have more dangers to contend with than anyone.

It's becuase you think there is a choice that the law needs to be changed !

@Excitable... I meant that the law to wear seatbelts is a good thing. People talk about freedom of choice and not harming anyone else... we all have a responsibility to look after ourselves for our children's sake and so we won't be a drain on the NHS.

There is little evidence either way as far as I can see. There is a lot of "opinion based" evidence pointing in both directions. Wikipedia has quite a good summary of the various schools of thought.

I am a GP in Bristol, and councillor lead on Cycling City in Bristol and I now chose not to wear a cycling helmet, but it is a personal preference. If helmets put off people they are bad, if they help people in an accident they are good, if they lead vehicles to pass closer to cyclists wearing helmets that is bad, etc, etc.

I feel much safer since I took an adult cycling lesson in summer 2009. I learnt to cycle in the correct position on the road so that I no longer hug the kerb or the door opening zones of parked cars. I had thought I was being helpful, keeping out of cars way, but now I realise that they may have had trouble seeing me in that position.

Safe cycling one and all.

@Supernot... yes thanks. I wasn't replying to your post directly. In fact your post came in whilst I was typing mine and I think we've said the same things.

@jonrogers... I think being in your position you have an obligation to set a better example by wearing a helmet. It's not just about car doors and road dangers. What if your chain or a spoke snaps and sends over the bars into a kerb edge, what if you get your foot stuck in a pedal clip and can't brace your fall, what if the weather changes a wind pushes you off. The road surfaces you ride on are not made of play area saftey rubber and it only takes a simple knock to the head to cause a hemerage !

@Excitable1: pointing out the injuries that can occur when people don't wear certain protective equipment is not an argument for forcing people to wear that equipment. Or if it is, surely it should be applied to everything else as well as cycling? A lot of head injuries would be prevented by people wearing helmets for DIY, should they be made to by law?

>>What if your chain or a spoke snaps and sends over the bars into a kerb edge, what if you get your foot stuck in a pedal clip and can't brace your fall, what if the weather changes a wind pushes you off.

What if a car mounts the pavement while you're walking and runs you down? This happens a lot. What if the ladder slips while you're doing a bit of DIY? etc etc etc.

I applaud the minister. Yes, there are some benefits to wearing a helmet but there are also downsides and it's time somebody significant stood up to be counted. For the record I wear a helmet sometimes, when I'm pottering along country lanes I don't bother but a 'proper' mountain bike ride and I certainly do. It's about time we halted the health and safety proponents and allowed people to make their own choices.

"Would you let your own kids go out withought one?"

Absolutley, never wore a helmet as a kid myself. Had lots of accidents and still here to tell the tale.

"Obviously it's a good idea to wear a helmet, the advantages vastly outway the disadvatages"

Why. There is a s much info out there to disprove the theory about helmets as there is propaganda about the benefits. They are not designed like motorcycle helmets and not expected to do the same job.

"I dread to think what would have happened if he didn't have one on"

The old "Helmet Saved My Life" bullsh1t, How would you explain me having several crashes and not even banging my head, in fact last year two of us on a club run came off on the same corner on some black ice. He broke his collar bone and cracked his helmet, I grazed my leg. Did the helmet save his life? I don'tthink so.

@Mr Chuck... been on a building site lately ?.... you won't find a site operative without a high vis vest, a helmet, or saftey shoes, it's now the law, why ? becuse people were being killed becuse they thought they had a right not wear the protection.

I can't under stand you lot. Cycling is a dangerous past time, far more dangerous than DIY or walking down the street. Further more, what if you had to pay the hospital bill after they put your head back together would that make you wear a helmet as protection of your wallet. Or think of it another way... the money saved in the NHS budget NOT putting cyclists heads back together could be better spent on cancer research or new equipment !

@Stoobydale... you lucky b*****d !

Yo, Excitable.... how u know the helmet saved your life. Did you actually die and come back through helmet like Lazarus through Jesus?

"Just one awkward knock in the simplest of falls is all it takes to kill you"

That's right, and it could happen stepping off a bus or just tripping over in the street. Do you propose that we should wear a helmet whenever we leave the house? Ah but what if we had a fall in the house? Maybe we could get some legislation so that we could wear helmets all the time. The world would be so much safer!!

"@Stoobydale... you lucky b*****d !"

Think I must be, I've had 5 motorbike crashes as well and only broke a finger.

"been on a building site lately ?.... you won't find a site operative without a high vis vest, a helmet, or saftey shoes, it's now the law"

More BS.Statistically, how many lives has wearing a helmet and high vis on a building site saved directly? Given a free choice most of the guys would choose not to wear a lid and vest because they are uncomfortable. Slips, trips, falls and minor injuries, yes. Deaths, I don't think so. It's only law because over the last 20 years there is a whole othe industry about safety developed and it's worth big money.

To people like KingsCC, have you ever rode your bike in the Netherlands or Belgium? I guess the answe is no. They have a huge number of cyclist, yet the majority I would guess 98% dont wear helmets and they dont have any issues, they are far fitter, have a better society than us etc.

If I am off out on a club run, or a long ride into the Dales at speed, then yes Ill wear my helmet. If i am pottering off to the shops or going to post my letter, then no I wont.

Its shown that in places like Australia and Spain, the law to make you wear a helmet has caused the number of people cycling to drop so much because its giving the impression that cycling is dangerous, where in fact, the pro's massively out weigh the cons.

Comparing cycling to a building site is like comparing apples and oranges and is just stupid.

>>becuse people were being killed becuse they thought they had a right not wear the protection.

People get killed and injured doing lots of things that they think they have a right not to wear protection for. Why pick out cycling? I don't think it's that dangerous, and it's my understanding that the stats bear that out.

And the argument about paying for your own treatment is utterly bogus. Do you think people who break bones playing sunday league football should pay? Or drivers who get head injuries when they could have been wearing helmets in their cars?

When people are out and about doing things, some people will get hurt. You can't legislate against it. I'm not convinced there is an epidemic of helmet-preventable cyclist injuries to warrant compulsion, and if there were, I think society would beneift more from addressing the bull in the china shop rather than making sure the china is wrapped up (to borrow a turn of phrase from Copenhagenise).

Look... just wear a helmet because it bleedin' well make sense ok? End of arguement. For sure, you have the right to do whatever you like in your lives... but you WILL reap the consequences one way or another.

From my own experiences riding as a child and now as an adult I'm more likely to brake bones and/or severely cut myself from a fall/crash on a bike.

Does this mean that elbow, knee pads, pressure suits etc.. should be made compulsory - of course not !!

I think more health care time is spent fixing these broken bones and cuts than the small percentage of head injuries that occur.

A helmet helps reduce the risk of death but it's no life saver. If I get hit by a car doing 40mph+ then i'm probably dead anyway, helmet or not.

@ Excitable1 You are being simplistic and statistically just plain wrong.

Every single person I knew (9 in total) who has been killed whilst cycling was wearing a helmet. I and most of my cycling friends do not wear helmets except for breif periods when racing and thankfully we are all still around. That's 100% death rate for helmet users versus 0% for helmet free riders just in my personal experience - statistics paint a similar picture.

Meta studies in several countries show that mandatory helmet use does not save lives and fewer people cycle (in effect increasing mortality).

Just because you think you are right and it somehow makes sense to you doesn't actually mean you are correct or even using common sense.

Since most people's argument is based on saving the cost of treatment in the NHS, since I have private healthcare I take it I can do whatever the hell I want??

I don't wear one as they are un-cool....... : (

Oh no, not the helmet debate again. Bikeradar - will you pleasssse do a Helmet test so we can at least see if its worth wearing one?

Something like this: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html

Then maybe we can go from there...

serious road biking or mountain biking, or city commuting, yes I CHOOSE to wear a helmet.

But pootling about - no bloody way: it is overkill that kills the joy of such cycling.

In 20 years time H&S jobsworths will be putting pressure on us to wear pedestrian helmets and hi vis jackets to walk to the corner shop at this rate.