Dangers of cycling
It is safer to cycle in England than to drive in France (“sorry, Bradley, helmets are not the answer”, Christian Wolmar, The Times Opinion, Aug 3). For young male road users, it is safer to cycle than to drive. For older road users, the added risk of cycling rather than driving is about comparable to the added risk of driving on an all-purpose road rather on a motorway. This small added risk is, for the individual, outweighed many times over by the health benefit. Cycling increases life expectancy whereas driving reduces it. For the population as a whole the small added risk is considerably outweighed by reduced risk to third parties.
The mistaken perception that cycling is dangerous tragically dissuades a lot of people from cycling and thereby causes many “unrecognised” deaths from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and depression. If we make cycle helmets compulsory we feed this perception by placing cycling in the same category as motor cycling or being on a building site. With one exception cycling rates have fallen whenever such laws have been adopted. The exception is Ontario, where rates were already very high and the law was not enforced.
The case for compulsory cycle helmets is weaker than the case for football helmets and on a par with the case for helmets whilst driving.
Dr. Stephen Watkins
Dr. Jennifer Mindell
Transport & Health Study Group,
Stockport
Published in The Times Saturday, 4 Aug 2012