CYCLE helmets can save lives – but should their use be made compulsory?

Today, the Oxford Mail continues its Be Bike Safe campaign by asking whether wearing a helmet while riding a bike should be made a legal requirement, as it is in Australia, parts of Canada and the US, and many other countries around the world.

The question has sparked debate among the community. Many believe police should enforce helmet-use while others think it should be a matter of personal choice.

There is no British law to compel cyclists of any age to wear helmets, though the Highway Code suggests cyclists should wear a helmet ‘which conforms to current regulations, is the correct size and securely fastened’.

Cyclist Jayne Ellis, 39, an Oxford travel agent, originally from Australia – where the law is enforced – said: "I did have an accident last year. I ended up knocking myself unconscious. I smashed myself straight on the ground.

“There’s not a chance I would cycle without a helmet – not even round the corner to the shops.

"I'm from Australia, so it shocks me. Everyone wears helmets over there."

Sue Miller’s daughter Sarah was seriously injured when she was knocked off her bike in Singapore.

The 30-year-old is still receiving medical treatment in the Far Eastern country, where she works as a teacher, following the crash on March 1. Her mum believes that wearing a helmet saved her life.

Ms Miller, of Cumnor, said: "I think wearing a helmet should be the law, in the same way seatbelts are.

"When they first became compulsory people said they were uncomfortable and the same is true of helmets in that nobody likes wearing them.

"But they are not fashion items, they save lives."

However, some people believe that wearing a helmet should remain up to the individual, and warned that a law enforcing helmet use could deter people from cycling.

Andy Holme, co-owner of Warlands Cycles in Botley Road, said: "I think there would be a lot of people who wouldn't want to wear a helmet if it was forced.

“Generally I think helmets shouldn’t be made a legal requirement because the health of the nation would deteriorate.

“People on low incomes would go back to public transport because of the expense of the helmet.”

He said a lot of people do not purchase helmets with bikes because they regard them as unnecessary.

Campaigning group Cyclox supports the Oxford Mail’s Be Bike Safe campaign, but a spokesman said it did not support helmet laws, based on evidence that the health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risk of collision.

The spokesman said: “Oxford is a great cycling city and Cyclox wants to make cycling as safe as possible. Helmet wearing is not compulsory but lots of our members make a personal choice to wear them.”