Members of the Helmet Freedom team have been hitting the airwaves recently and have had some engaging discussions with radio hosts & callers alike. It seems that the majority of adults think bicycle helmet choice is a good idea.
From Brisbane’s 4ZZZ (Listen)
From Brisbane’s 4BC (Listen)
From Sydney’s 2GB (Listen)
A recent article on the Courier Mail website included a poll, posing the question:
“Would repealing law (sic) forcing cyclists to wear helmets get more people to ride bicycles?”
73% of the 2,466 respondents said YES!
This is consistent with a poll taken last year by Melbourne’s Age in conduction with this article that showed that 71% of respondents were in favour of a helmet law exemption for bike share – there were 13,890 respondents! Currently Melbourne’s ‘Melbourne Bike Share’ and Brisbane’s ‘CityCycle’ are the only two large-scale public bicycle hire schemes on the planet which require adult riders to wear a bicycle helmet.
when I was challenged about freedom v. helmets I use to say: Work with me in an ER for a rotation and watch the wreckage of cracked skulls, the families, the paraplegics etc, and then maybe you will agree. Don’t wear a helmet as soon as you post a million dollar bond to cover your life-long in hospice care post bicycle head injury. No one ever took me up on the deal.
But why don’t you apply the same standards to other activities?
Wear a helmet in a car or post a $M bond. Unless you are arguing that motorists don’t get head injuries.
Wear a hat & sunscreen or post a $M bond. Unless you are arguing that people don’t get skin cancer.
Keep your BMI under 30 or post a $M bond. Unless you are arguing that obesity isn’t a health problem.
You are absolutely right that wearing a helmet can prevent head injuries. You are also correctly that because society foots a large part of medical bills, then prevention is a political issue. But what you have completely failed to argue is why you can apply your logic for one mode of transport but not others when there is no relevant difference.
Bikes save more lives than helmets ever can. Helmet laws discourage cycling and actually increase social & medical costs because of this.
How many of all your anecdotes are from bike crashes? Or other things? What? And if bike crashes, were they already wearing helmets?
If you work in construction or if you will be on a construction site it is important you wear a helmet to protect your head against dangerous falling objects.