I don’t wear a helmet.
Therefore I am not allowed to take part in anything like a Sky Ride. Why? I
mean by that why don’t I choose to wear a crash helmet?
Well, it’s a little complicated, but the facts I observe
seem to confirm my belief that helmets generally make riders less cautious,
less observant and less polite.
To me, it’s all about attitude. If you think you’re safe
then you don’t really weigh up the risks of what you’re doing, simply because
you’re protected.
In more than 50 years of cycling I've had two shunts,
when a small van bumped me slightly and I fell off and when a parked car opened
its door suddenly. On both occasions I fell and landed on my shoulder. Should I
therefore wear shoulder pads?
I’ve also had a few tumbles that were either my fault or
the fault of the road conditions and each time I landed on my shoulder. It’s
probably a natural thing.
There are people who should wear a helmet. Usually they’re
dressed in expensive lycra; their jaws are grimly set as they pedal as fast as
their legs can take them. These cyclists are always racing; they race the cars,
they race other cyclists, they race motorbikes and they’re always on the main
road.
I've watched them over the past few years and, frankly,
they frighten me; going through red lights, weaving in and out of lanes of
traffic, yelling abuse at drivers, screaming at pedestrians. They’re like the
road-rage drivers we all hate so much, but they’re safe; because even
travelling at their silly speeds and even though their ears are filled with
earphones, they have a crash helmet on their head.
I would ask whether, apart from the adrenaline rush of
the hunter, they actually enjoy their cycling and notice their surroundings at
all.
Most cyclists are also drivers, but once astride the
bike, these riders change personality. They become cyborgs of speed and
survival, glancing endlessly down to check their average speed, their maximum
speed attained and the distance travelled so far.
Lose the helmet and see what happens. You will suddenly
realise that you own a soft, fleshy body and large chunks of hard metal are
whizzing all round you. That’s when you start to really assess risks. Should I
slow down a bit here? Would I get in trouble if I overtake here? Am I too close
to the kerb? And so on and so on.
I once helped out with a motorcycle safety course called “Star
Rider”. I learned about safety lines and shoulder checks and backing off from
danger. These were all salutary lessons.
Recently, on a Speed Awareness course for car drivers, I
learned about C.O.A.S.T. (Concentration-Observation-Anticipation_Space and
Time) Surely this is just as helpful to a cyclist, especially one who shares
the main road with trucks, HGVs and cars.
Children fall badly, so they need to wear helmets, till they've figured it all out. Cyclist who share those dangerous roads need to
wear a helmet, but the thousands of us who tootle along country lanes and river
paths and tow paths, simply need to be aware of dangers and be careful. I
really don’t think we need a helmet.
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