Remember kids... always wear a helmet. (The almighty bikeradar helmet thread)

https://vimeo.com/vismedia/review/120354170/e96967a916

the soppy hi-viz twat with a helmet strap so loose it'll throttle him if ever he comes a cropper is a highlight.

So the drunk driver chatting on a mobile who killed a cyclist in London gets the fatal event described as an "accident".

ripped apart here:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2015/feb/25/insurance-giants-cycling-study-shows-the-perils-of-poor-statistics

Oh Aviva, Y U make stupid-arsed video? Maybe to distract from the fact you were outed as financial silly-billies the day before? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31603156 There's nothing like a cycling story to push bad news down the twitter feed.

Anyone else notice the guardians own cycle tops advertised at then bottom of the article, politically I like the "keep left" one, but don't think it makes for good cycling advice.

Maybe someone should do one for presidential candidates that says, "take the primary"?

I got asked over to the side of the road this morning whilst stopped on the red light at a pedestrian crossing in Greenwich/Deptford by two flouro official looking policewomen.
One of them handed a leaflet to me and explained briefly its contents and that I was selected because I was not wearing a helmet.

What a stupid job to be given.

They should have worn a helmet, obvs.

Can you imagine doing that job, how many of the helmetless are just going to ignore them, a depressing reaction but probably slightly more enjoyable for the police than the self riteous helmetless riders who will launch into their anti helmet tirade...

Actually I feel like a bit of riteous indignation, think I'll head down there tomorrow.

כל ראש חובש קסדה (Every head needs a helmet)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBAXFpRw1xY

they should send some of those magic helmets to the kids in palestine.

Update on this story about my kids' school trying to make helmets compulsory for all cycling pupils.

I wrote the the head, citing helpful info from here and the CTC. I got no reply, but the compulsory aspect was quietly dropped, and we heard no more of it for a while. However, this evening a friend showed me this letter which was delivered today:

Dear Parent/Guardian
Re; Road safety and cycling helmets
During this academic year, concerns have been raised by local residents, other road users and members of staff regarding the safety of some Finham Park students cycling to and from school. These students have been seen riding their bikes with little regard to road safety and with many not wearing a helmet. We have conducted assemblies to all students to highlight the dangers and how they can stay safe on the roads.
Below are some statistics from the ROSPA website;
Cyclist casualties, 2013
Child Adult All
Killed 6 193 109
Seriously injured 276 2867 3143
Injured 1676 14510 18616
Total 1958 17480 19438
The reason you have received this letter is because during a recent check, xxxx came to school on her bike without wearing a helmet. We are very concerned about the safety of all our students and ask that you can support us by encouraging xxxx to wear a helmet whilst cycling to and from school.
Yours faithfully

What do you think about that?

My first instinct would be to reply in terms similar to Arkell vs. Pressdram

Tell them "To fuck the fuck off !"

Or direct them to cyclehelmets.org

I suspect the school could be between a rock and a hard place. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they had received complaints from people seeing kids without helmets and they feel they have to act on it.

Unfortunately for many a helmet is all a cyclist needs to protect them from any kind of injury and not wearing one is a symbol of carelessness.

I'd go back and ask why they are conflating careless cycling with no helmets when they are two totally separate issues. Suggest cycle training to cancel out the bad cycling. Make reference to something like the Ben Goldacre article on cycle helmets to illustrate how meaningless the stats are.

Rather than demand the kids wear helmets the school could suggest that people drive in a considerate manner as driver error causes most accidents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_gpPbpONK4

can't tell you how many times i've come to traffic and filtered to the front, only to get sucked into the intake of a taxiing jet...always wear a helmet kids!

Did you receive a copy of this letter? If you didn't, and it appears the headteacher is conducting a smear campaign against you and your daughter using public funds, then I would imagine the local paper would be very interested. The letter tries, rather clumsily, to link riding 'with little regard to road safety' and not wearing a helmet. The link between the two is sufficiently tenuous that even the densest journo should be able to see that the comparison is intellectually dishonest.

Sadly I can't imagine any local journalist getting on board with a story about kids not wearing helmets.

Agreed. But a headteacher conducting a smear campaign about a pupil and their parent using public funds? Maybe it' just sleepy old Ely, but that would attract interest.

I don't think a lack of helmet would be viewed as a smear campaign though, most people would be amazed at the lack of responsibility on behalf of the parent at the lack of helmet and that would trump any other story.

I, and every other cycling instructor, encounter these attitudes almost every working day. Helmets have become amulets and it's very difficult to argue against the comforting power of superstition.
No matter that the helmets parents provide for their children may be old, battered, too small, too big, or that they have no idea how to fir them properly. If the belief that strapping half a coconut to their childs head was all that was needed to keep them 'safe' then that is what they would do.
I'm not sure the argument has been lost, the pro-helmet decision is usually based on total ignorance, so it can be countered, but it takes time and effort. I think Richard Dawkins probably has an easier time of it trying to counter religion.

Everyone asked if I was wearing a helmet and commented on oh good thing you were wearing a helmet...

Um, it didn't stop me leaving my fucking face on the ground or cracking collarbone you knobbers.

I will continue to wear my amulet though. It protects me from direct birdshit hits.

Everyone asked if I was wearing a helmet and commented on oh good thing you were wearing a helmet...

I recently came off my bike and put a big fuck off hole in my chin.

First thing A&E doctor asked before gluing me together was Were you wearing a helmet?

I guess a full face BMX lid might have helped.

As others say, the general helmet attitude is so ingrained you'll fail if you challenge the letter publicly and the school is probably getting pressure from locals. Just write back acknowledging their difficult situation and explaining why you disagree. Anything more confrontational will be counterproductive.

the only compelling reason to wear a helmet is to ensure the usual finger pointing cock-knuckles that write letters to the metro don't have something to hitch their misguided victim blaming wagon to in the unfortunate event that you should ever get clattered by a tit on his phone.

that, and it's handy at the shops when all the baskets are gone.

Sorry if I gave the impression the letter was about my daughter. The x-ed out name was my friend's daughter's name. She rode to school without a helmet, and was stopped by a teacher who said he was conducting a survey about 'active students' or some such thing.

The fact that it turns out he was actually taking the names of helmetless cyclists so he could send their parents the above letter is dodgy in itself, but there's no smearing involved.