[Closed] Biggest Hitter ever to join helmet debate...

[url= http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/lids-for-kids-calls-for-helmets-to-be-compulsory-for-children ]At least someone is thinking of the kids.. lid compulsion for kids comes up again[/url]

I'm sure this'll be popular with the majority of non-cyclists and be an easy one to spin as a positive, tbh for kids a bit of caring-parent common sense says a lid is no bad thing, but compulsion? I see kids around here having to wear a lid for using those 3-wheel scooters in a park.. for bikes they want to enforce it, but not skateboards or scooters. Sensible or ott risk-aversion?

cynic-al - Member

A stopped car/bus isn't going to turn left and drive over you, so for this discussion they are utterly different IMO.

The eyewitness account says that's exactly what happened- lights changed, bus moved off, turned left.

Sensible or ott risk-aversion?

sensible to get kids to wear lids, daft to try compulsion, kids obviously aren't going to be punished by the law for flouting it so which responsible adult? The parent? ok maybe if they were riding from home but what if kid had picked bike up from the bike shop or was riding home from school or a mates, is it the last adult who saw them? in which case no school in the country is going to let kids commute by bike. gonna be tricky.

Also why only cycling and not skate boarding scooters roller skates etc etc etc cynically I'm guessing it's a road safety thing, one way or another of getting drivers out of bother/reducing road KSI stats rather than generally protecting kids

Perhaps the issue is that these "debates" often, quickly, become very polarized and that what is really needed is not media soundbite comments from prominent cyclists, cycling groups or motoring groups...

But a proper assessment of the issues and potential measures to address them, carried out by a dispassionate third party, someone without an axe to grind... Dare I say it a study... But one focussed on cycling accident reduction and required to give positive recommendations for measures aimed at achieving this.
Rather than another study aimed at debunking/proving that something doesn't have a positive impact or apportioning blame to one particular group...

I'm sure this thread will resolve this debate, once and for all.