Chris Boardman: "Helmets not even in top 10 of things that keep cycling safe"
British Cycling policy advisor says it's time to stop distracting helmet arguments and concentrate on real safety issuesby John Stevenson, Road CC
...
Talking to road.cc at the London Bike Show, Boardman said, “I think the helmet issue is a massive red herring. It’s not even in the top 10 of things you need to do to keep cycling safe or more widely, save the most lives.”
You’re being shot at, put on body armour
Boardman returned to an analogy he has made before, and which even he admits is a bit melodramatic, though it gets the point across
“It’s a bit like saying ‘people are sniping at you going down this street, so put some body armour on,’” he said.
Government encouragement to wear helmets was therefore “a big campaign to get people to wear body armour, by the people who should be stopping the shooting.”
Widespread use of helmets, he said, sends the wrong message.
“Once you see somebody wearing body armour, even if there’s no shooting, you think ‘Christ I’m not going down there if they’re wearing body armour to go down that street.’ It scares people off.”
...
<a href="http://road.cc/content/news/111258-chris-boardman-helmets-not-even-top-10-things-keep-cycling-safe">http://road.cc/content/news/111258-chris-boardman-helmets-not-even-top-10-things-keep-cycling-safe</a>;
What's Related