Cyclists...do you wear a helmet?

Speaking as a cyclist (and motorbike rider), it might help if drivers don't treat their cars as mobile offices.
The number of drivers seen using smartphones/iPads, nattering away on mobiles and fiddling about with sat navs (and probably doing all three at the same time!) while still driving along is quite shockingly common!
 
Ian D J said:
Speaking as a cyclist (and motorbike rider), it might help if drivers don't treat their cars as mobile offices.
The number of drivers seen using smartphones/iPads, nattering away on mobiles and fiddling about with sat navs (and probably doing all three at the same time!) while still driving along is quite shockingly common!
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Yeah just the other day I saw a girl at traffic lights with her mobile resting on her wheel while texting. She kept on doing it as she drove off :thumbsdown:
 
I am in a minority it seems who does not wear a helmet. I do go on the odd ride around the village, occasionally into Cambridge (about 7 miles over quiet roads in the main) and to and from the pub in the next village. Roads are quiet up here, if I was driving in London it would probably be different.
 
TheCrewDesigns said:
Yeah just the other day I saw a girl at traffic lights with her mobile resting on her wheel while texting. She kept on doing it as she drove off :thumbsdown:
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Indeed! ..... I see plenty of cyclists using their phone as well
 
I always wear mine, it's a funky leopard print one which makes it soooo cool to wear :)
 
cambsno said:
I am in a minority it seems who does not wear a helmet. I do go on the odd ride around the village, occasionally into Cambridge (about 7 miles over quiet roads in the main) and to and from the pub in the next village. Roads are quiet up here, if I was driving in London it would probably be different.
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Get one sorted mate as you can just as easily fall off on a country road as a city road.

Of course its everyone's choice but for the tiny inconvenience of putting a helmet on is much better than brain damage or death :(
 
Samphire said:
I always wear mine, it's a funky leopard print one which makes it soooo cool to wear :)
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*LOL* brilliant, not seen one of those before and I am out on my bike a lot. Helmets do seem to be pretty boring. There you go a good business idea to make funky cycle helmets :thumbs:
 
TheCrewDesigns said:
*LOL* brilliant, not seen one of those before and I am out on my bike a lot. Helmets do seem to be pretty boring. There you go a good business idea to make funky cycle helmets :thumbs:
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one's with flashing led's in would be a better idea:thumbs:
 
Samphire said:
I have them on my backpack :)
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I use the hump from halfords on my backpack but couldn't get the one with the mesh pocket so the lights are still attached to the bike for now
 
Keenbfb said:
one's with flashing led's in would be a better idea:thumbs:
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I made a little gizmo for my winter/night riding helmet



The 4 red LED's are now fitted with a little gaffa tape in the rear "vents" of the helmet. Switch is attached to the strap by my ear, and the button cell is tucked up at the back near the vents.
 
H2O said:
I always wear a helmet. It's just stupid not to.

The thing that annoys me most about other cyclists though is the number that don't use the provided (and expensive to make!) cycle paths.

My drive to work has a top quality cycle path running alongside the road all the way and yet almost every day i have to go around cyclists using the main road at rush hour. They're causing an obstruction a whole 3 feet from an empty lane dedicated to their use. :shrug:
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I never ever use cycle lanes. I cycle to work and did some experiments. For two weeks I cycled to work on designated cycle paths and got nine, yes nine punctures. The next two weeks I cycled on the road and didn't get one puncture....

That's why I never use cycle lanes... :)
 
realspeed said:
The difference being motorist pay to use the roads, cyclists don't
The difference being motorist have to take a test to use the roads cyclists don't
The difference being motorist have to be insured to use the roads cyclists don't.

Just as 3 examples


Realspeed
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You've missed the most important one. There are both idiots behind the wheel and on a bike. However when the two collide, there is always only one outcome. Perhaps I don't need to explain the rest, and it is clearly not worth the risk, so use the bloody cycle paths. I'd rather get a puncture (a bit unlucky, maybe poor tires) than have paramedics scraping pieces of flesh of the tarmac.

Some idiots that cycle in Bristol drive me crazy both as a pedestrian and a motorist. They never stop at red light, pull out right in front from everywhere, break the highway code in all possible ways, and are trying to be as dangerous to everyone (incl other cyclists) as they possibly can. :thumbsdown: It is about time they get stopped and fined everytime they do this.
 
stokes said:
I never ever use cycle lanes. I cycle to work and did some experiments. For two weeks I cycled to work on designated cycle paths and got nine, yes nine punctures. The next two weeks I cycled on the road and didn't get one puncture....

That's why I never use cycle lanes... :)
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I use a mixture of road and cycle lanes, the cycle lanes aren't too bad....just full of pedestrians and prams :bonk:

Sometimes you have to use a busy road, pavements are a :nono: and cycle paths are few and sometimes just a gutter at the road side.
 
H2O said:
I always wear a helmet. It's just stupid not to.

The thing that annoys me most about other cyclists though is the number that don't use the provided (and expensive to make!) cycle paths.

My drive to work has a top quality cycle path running alongside the road all the way and yet almost every day i have to go around cyclists using the main road at rush hour. They're causing an obstruction a whole 3 feet from an empty lane dedicated to their use. :shrug:
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Most cycle lanes really suck and are fine if you are pootling along at 10mph. They are not much good if you mainly cycle at speeds ranging from 15mph to 40mph (OK, that's downhill and/or with a good tailwind). Another thing is that they are actually more dangerous than using the road as vehicles cut across them when entering or emerging from side roads.
 
I agree with many of the comments about cycle lanes. You do puncture often on many of them and they are dangerous if they are just painted footpaths as cars normally pull out in front of you more. I had a slow speed collision when a car done that to me. Thankfully we all came out of that ok. That was slow speed on a MTB, I would never ride on my road bike on them.

I do have a 50 metre section of cycle lane on my ride to work. I will have to post a picture as its worth a laugh!

As a cyclist I always spot drivers on their mobiles so I can avoid them.

I think there are just some drivers out there who don't like us. Throwing coins, beeping, shouting etc. I was even shot at with a paintball but probably just kids.
 
boliston said:
Most cycle lanes really suck and are fine if you are pootling along at 10mph. They are not much good if you mainly cycle at speeds ranging from 15mph to 40mph (OK, that's downhill and/or with a good tailwind). Another thing is that they are actually more dangerous than using the road as vehicles cut across them when entering or emerging from side roads.
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I forgot to mention the side roads. They are a nightmare and you constantly have to stop for cars when crossing the roads. I much prefer the road.

And the cars parked in the cycle lane.... They are fun!!

Impatient cars trying to overtake cause a lot of issues. Last year I was cycling home and a car overtook me metres away from a crossing point, the type with bollards in the middle of the road. The car just made it back in before reaching it. The car behind who followed didnt, and went straight into it and crashed. All were in fine, except the car of course.
 
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Highway code for cyclists
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069837

I've found the odd time we've been riding two abreast that cars have to pass so much slower instead of just blasting past.



Just to add I'm a driver before a cyclist. But being a cyclist has made me more aware as a driver.

However I hate cyclist when I'm in my car, and I hate cars when I'm on my bike.
 
braveboy2012 said:
......

I think there are just some drivers out there who don't like us. Throwing coins, beeping, shouting etc. I was even shot at with a paintball but probably just kids.
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I kind of take the attitude that if the shout, beep etc then it means that they have at least seen you.

The ones I fear are the ones that have not seen me!
 
I always wear one these days, and there have been at least two occasions where I felt that I wouldn't have been in a very good state had I not been wearing one - and walked away from both situations.

First was in california where I took a corner a little fast in the rain, and bounced my helmet off the 'sidewalk' twice before coming to a stop on someone's lawn. It took me about 3 minutes for the daze to calm down.

Second was while cycling to work in Essex, a loose kerbstone on the cycle-path/footpath flipped on me and I went over the handlebars and again bounced my helmet off the concrete. Sat there gathering my wits when I realised I'd come off the bike right in front of a police woman sat eating her breakfast in her car.

Also, numerous times was shoved off the road while cycling to the same work place in Essex - which involved a 5 mile bike ride on a rural footpath-less road. For some reason the local bus companies' drivers felt that pushing cyclists off the road while they were doing 60mph was 'fun'. Never *needed* the helmet in those situations though, as I always landed on my side on the grass verge. But without a helmet, it'd have been a whole lot scarier.
 
NikkiA said:
....
Also, numerous times was shoved off the road while cycling to the same work place in Essex - which involved a 5 mile bike ride on a rural footpath-less road. For some reason the local bus companies' drivers felt that pushing cyclists off the road while they were doing 60mph was 'fun'. Never *needed* the helmet in those situations though, as I always landed on my side on the grass verge. But without a helmet, it'd have been a whole lot scarier.
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Wow, so you have been hit by busses doing 60mph and survived??!
 
boliston said:
Wow, so you have been hit by busses doing 60mph and survived??!
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'Nudged' rather than hit, but yes. Calling the bus company to complain resulted in 'can you prove it was one of our drivers?... no? well then... *click*'
 
Where we live is near the top of the highest hill in the city so any bike ride inevitably ends with a long, steep climb, so we rarely venture out on out pushbikes. however, when we do, I always wear a helmet, the irony being that when I'm out on my motorbike (makes that climb a lot easier), I hate wearing one. I'm well aware of the consequences of head injuries - been to too many funerals but also visited loads of neck injury patients, and some of those injuries have been exacerbated by the extra weight of a helmet flailing around at the top of the spinal column.
 
boliston said:
Most cycle lanes really suck and are fine if you are pootling along at 10mph. They are not much good if you mainly cycle at speeds ranging from 15mph to 40mph (OK, that's downhill and/or with a good tailwind). Another thing is that they are actually more dangerous than using the road as vehicles cut across them when entering or emerging from side roads.
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stokes said:
I never ever use cycle lanes. I cycle to work and did some experiments. For two weeks I cycled to work on designated cycle paths and got nine, yes nine punctures. The next two weeks I cycled on the road and didn't get one puncture....

That's why I never use cycle lanes... :)
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Fair enough. That'll all depend on the area though. I actually use the one i'm talking about, it's good quality tarmac & slightly removed from the main road so i'm much more comfortable cruising along at 15+ mph than i would be on the road. I do need to stop/ slow down a bit more due to having to cross side junctions that cars have right of way (or just very little chance of seeing a bike due to obstructions) on but that's a minor inconvenience for the added safety and reduced hassle/ obstruction i cause others. There are no issues with sharp litter.

It just seems to me that cyclists are as bad as car drivers. By which i mean few people seem willing to accept a small inconvenience to themselves for the increased safety of everyone.
 
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I always wear a cycle helmet, be it on road or off road.

I was out with some mates once on an organised route and one got it "wrong" on a descent and hit a tree head on, the helmet split in 2 but he was fine. Without the helmet, I'd not like to guess the outcome, but it wouldn't have been pretty.


In regards to the cycle lanes, I will where feasible use them. If i'm on my mountain bike I will almost always use them as opposed to the road. however if I'm on my preferred road bike I simply wont, because:

A) My speeds are generally higher than those of people around me and therefore the road is more appropriate.
B) The number of junctions that I'd have to stop for mean a very fragmented journey at much slower speeds, I'd be as well off on my mountain bike.
C) Each junction that I have to cross has a half inch + curb that I have to drop down onto the road then up from. Given the cost of the reasonable set of wheels I have on this bike as well as the full carbon forks, the potential cost of repairs etc is not worth while.

As said, at slower speeds and when the conditions (both bike and road/path) allow then I will use cycle lanes. My preferred cycle lanes are those which amount to approx the first 2 foot of the road surface from the curb. They resolve the issues listed above and still give cars a full lane. Unfortunately, even new roads do not seem to be installed with this in mind.
 
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stokes said:
I never ever use cycle lanes. I cycle to work and did some experiments. For two weeks I cycled to work on designated cycle paths and got nine, yes nine punctures. The next two weeks I cycled on the road and didn't get one puncture....

That's why I never use cycle lanes... :)
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i have to agree with one this point..i do agree with wearing a helmet... but our cycle paths are riddled with branches and glass from peds using them (which they have a right to as they are paths) and other cycle users?? but i suffered punctures whilst using them, then switched to the road and suffer 1 for the rest of the time i was able to ride to work. :shrug:

no brainer not to wear a helmet, maybe we should all wear cameras videoing our journeys. cars might well back off if they know they're being filmed.. or get more agressive because they are late..? again :shrug:
 
H2O said:
...

It just seems to me that cyclists are as bad as car drivers. By which i mean few people seem willing to accept a small inconvenience to themselves for the increased safety of everyone.
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Well I have been regularly cycling for about 30 years (ie most days) and have had 3 accidents resulting in injury, none of which would have been helped by using a cycle lane.

1) Child ran out in front of me without warning, fell off bike, broke collar bone.
Probably more likely on cycle path as closer to curb.
2) Car failed to give way at minor side road and drove into me, resulting in sprained shoulder (ironically much more painful than broken collar bone!) and netted me £2k compensation. :cool: If I had been in a cycle lane I could just as easily have had this happen, in fact there is more risk as I'm closer to the curb.
3) Fell off after hitting surface defect in carriageway - quite easy with 20mm tyres at 140psi -cracked elbow. Probably more likely on cyclepath as often worse quality surface than main carriageway.
 
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I cycle on and off road, always with a helmet, and after not too few comings-off, including my front wheel coming off and me going straight over the bars. I broke my collar bone about 6 weeks ago and boy was I glad I wore my helmet, if the impact could break my collarbone, had the helmet not been there, it would most likely have damaged my head extremely severely.
I've had many helmets split in two, and I don't see how people are unprepared to pay such a small fee to stop them from, in the worst case, killing themselves.

Stay sare out there...
 
Off road doing jumps etc. All the time.

On road, not always. I don't go far on road to be fair.

jkp said:
Not just on roads. Go to any offroad centre like Glentress and you'll see loonies throwing themselves off slopes and jumps in trees with no helmet attached. Madness.
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Yeah that sort of thing perplexes me even more. Pads can save a lot of grief also.

Anyone riding off road should learn to fall also, can save a lot of arm injurys. I still have trouble from clipping a log I was jumping and landing with my arms outstretched. My shoulders play me up 6 years later.

Now if I come off I tuck up and try and just roll with it when I land. Kind of like a parachute landing where the act of going with the flow dissapates the energy. This of course is rendered useless if you land into something solid and tree shaped haha. But you take your luck.
 
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A little update on my other half's Uncles situation.

No change with him. But the girl that hit him has admitted dangerous driving or driving with undue care.(Can't remember which) £150 fine and 5 points. Got off lightly I think. But more importantly it means the insurance company are going to pay out so hopefully some better treatment may be on its way. And hopefully they can stop his house from being repossessed.

Wear a helmet. If not for you, then for everyone you know
 
justlooking said:
what I always find strange is when you see parents out with their children .. childern wearing helmets but not the parents. Why?!
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I'm guilty as charged.

No excuse - I guess it's just the era I grew up in.

Silly thing is I crashed in my early 20s - dozen stitches in the chin, night in hospital but still don't wear one.
 
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As someone who has hit a cyclist - 100% their fault they didn't pay attention, went through a red light and appeared from behind a van at a junction, proved by the police and civil case to be their fault.

It still made me feel so ****! Could I avoid him, could i of done something etc. In the end I finally accepted in my head that there was nothing I could of done.

As for him,e wore no helmet, no high vis or bright clothing and went through a red light. The end result was his head hitting the ground, ambulance etc. 18 months later he started a civil case claiming he now has epilepsy (I feel sorry for him, but his fault, not mine) and some other minor things and it was my fault. TS was a extremely stressful year and any communication from the cyclists solicitor got me so so angry, it made by blood boil. All of this would of been avoided (without any doubt) by him wearing a helmet.

I now hate cyclists who don't wear helmets or take basic precautionary steps they are taking chances they don't need to take. They are the ones who will be injured and if a majorish injury their life and lives of those around them will be affected. You will also cause major stress and anguish to the person who hit you even if its nit their fault. Wearing a helmet won't always help, but can help so should be worn.

I also hate parents who make their kids wear helmets, but think the same rule doesn't apply to them. I always wear a helmet and have done for 15 years and my kids will also wear helmets. Why take a chance when there is protection out there?
 
I have recently started cycling again - although I'm mainly riding trails locally while getting better at hills. I used to ride on the road all the time - and main roads too. All without a helmet.

Now, well I have one and it is part of my cycling kit. Helmet, glasses, gloves, mtb shorts, bag, bike. All go on before a ride, no exception.
 
I always wear a helmet, ALWAYS!

I've seen people around Cannock Chase doing a red run without a helmet and I can only assume they have a death wish.
 
Dale_d3100 said:
All of this would of been avoided (without any doubt) by him wearing a helmet.
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He jumped a red light! :bang:

Dale_d3100 said:
I now hate cyclists who don't wear helmets
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As long as your hatred doesn't lead to deliberate harm, I'm sure you'll do cyclists a favour by ensuring there's the "invisible protective bubble" between them and you :thumbs:

I'm sorry to hear that the incident has had such an impact on you and hasn't been resolved. You may be able to get some trauma counselling and it could be worthwhile you taking up cycling, yourself.
 
mattyg said:
A little update on my other half's Uncles situation.

No change with him. But the girl that hit him has admitted dangerous driving or driving with undue care.(Can't remember which) £150 fine and 5 points. Got off lightly I think. But more importantly it means the insurance company are going to pay out so hopefully some better treatment may be on its way. And hopefully they can stop his house from being repossessed.

Wear a helmet. If not for you, then for everyone you know
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Thanks for the update, sounds like a small win in a big battle.

Dale_d3100 said:
As someone who has hit a cyclist - 100% their fault they didn't pay attention, went through a red light and appeared from behind a van at a junction, proved by the police and civil case to be their fault.

It still made me feel so ****! Could I avoid him, could i of done something etc. In the end I finally accepted in my head that there was nothing I could of done.

As for him,e wore no helmet, no high vis or bright clothing and went through a red light. The end result was his head hitting the ground, ambulance etc. 18 months later he started a civil case claiming he now has epilepsy (I feel sorry for him, but his fault, not mine) and some other minor things and it was my fault. TS was a extremely stressful year and any communication from the cyclists solicitor got me so so angry, it made by blood boil. All of this would of been avoided (without any doubt) by him wearing a helmet.

I now hate cyclists who don't wear helmets or take basic precautionary steps they are taking chances they don't need to take. They are the ones who will be injured and if a majorish injury their life and lives of those around them will be affected. You will also cause major stress and anguish to the person who hit you even if its nit their fault. Wearing a helmet won't always help, but can help so should be worn.

I also hate parents who make their kids wear helmets, but think the same rule doesn't apply to them. I always wear a helmet and have done for 15 years and my kids will also wear helmets. Why take a chance when there is protection out there?
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Sound like the cyclist may have not have been completely honest with his version of the accident to blame you for anything, glad it's sorted now but sounds like you had a hard time.
 
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