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Bicycle Helmets Help Save Lives

A poll published in the British Medical Journal Blogs found that most respondents were against mandatory bicycle helmet laws for all bicyclists though bicycle helmets save lives.  According to most respondents, mandating bicycle helmets discourages cyclists from taking up what is essentially a healthy, environment friendly activity.

The British Medical Journal posed this question-should helmets be made compulsory for all adult bicyclists?  There were a total of 1439 respondents.  Out of these, 68% responded with a thumping No.

There were a number of reasons why respondents were against the idea of mandating bicycle helmets for all adult bicyclists.  Some of them believed that mandating helmets would discourage people from taking up this activity.  Besides, some respondents believed that mandating a law to get all adult bicyclists to wear helmets was not the way to go.  According to them, the carrot and stick approach is much more preferable to an arbitrary law requiring all adult bicyclists to wear helmets.

The opposition to bicycle helmet laws seems to be noticeably higher among female bicyclists.  According to many female bicyclists in the poll, women are likely to get turned off bicycling if they are forced to wear bicycle helmets.  Interestingly enough to Los Angeles bicycle accident lawyers, many respondents in the poll believe that mandating helmets gave the impression that bicycling is a dangerous activity.

According to the respondents, we should be doing more to encourage bicycling, as a means of controlling the obesity epidemic and also reducing our carbon foot print.  Bicycling is not just a healthy activity, but also one of the most environment friendly methods of transportation.  Besides, in our congested cities, bicycling could substantially reduce traffic volumes.  The respondents felt that cycling has too many benefits to ignore, and authorities should encourage bicycling, which doesn’t happen when you mandate helmets.

This poll was conducted in Britain, but Los Angeles bicycle accident lawyers would hope that California’s bicyclists feel differently.  For instance, bicycling may or may not be a dangerous activity in Britain, but it is a risky activity in California.  In this state, in recent years, there have been a number of instances of hostility between motorists and bicyclists.  Any bicyclist will tell you that he faces a hostile environment when he rides on a Los Angeles street.  He is frequently the subject of taunts, hostility, and unfriendly gestures.  He’s constantly in danger of being run off the road by motorists who don’t care about his rights.  He’s in danger of accidents caused by motorists who drive at excessive speeds, drive recklessly, or drive with a cell phone in one hand.

In these circumstances, it would be foolish for bicyclists to ignore the fact that they are vulnerable to serious injuries when ride.  One of the ways they can protect themselves is to wear a bicycle helmet every time they ride.

 

This summer, we would like to see more people in Atlanta making the conscious decision to wear helmets while riding.  A helmet may be inconvenient, and unfashionable, but it may save your life in an accident.

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