Although the Highway Code recommends that cyclists should “wear a cycle helmet which conforms to current regulations, is the correct size and securely fastened” there is in fact no legal obligation for cyclists to wear helmets.
Safety Importance Of Wearing A Cycling Helmet
Why there is no need to wear a cycling helmet
Surprisingly, there is actually some disagreement over whether helmets are a good idea or not. Some argue that wearing helmets is inconvenient and uncomfortable which puts people off cycling at all, denying them the health benefits which it can be argued outweigh the risk of injury.
Some also claim that wearing a helmet gives a cyclist a false sense of safety, causing them to take more risks, while failing to recognise that even with their head protected they remain a very vulnerable road user.
Another argument came from a neurosurgeon in a Telegraph article, who stated that cycle helmets are generally ineffective in preventing serious injury in any event. Interestingly, the article also suggests that:
“drivers think helmeted cyclists are more sensible, predicable and experienced, so therefore the driver doesn’t need to give them much space when overtaking”.
Why you should wear a cycling helmet
All that said, there remain plenty of advocates for wearing helmets. It is argued that some protection is always better than none, and that the downsides of wearing a helmet are no more than minor inconveniences – a price worth paying.
Indeed, this recent article reports that research has shown that cyclists wearing helmets had a 52% lower risk of suffering a traumatic brain injury, a 44% lower risk of death and a 31% lower risk of facial fractures.
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