Should cycle helmets become compulsory?
More may wear cycle helmets after court cuts
pay-out to head-injury victim who had no
helmet.
17 I 05 I 10
An estimated 1.4 million
people are treated in A&E every year for a head injury. To mark
brain injury awareness week Andrew Harding, head of the neurolaw
team at Hugh James and chairman of Headway, asks whether it’s time
cycle helmets became compulsory.
SHOULD you or shouldn’t you? The merits of wearing a cycle
helmet are a hotly debated topic within the cycling community.
While the Highway Code states that
cyclists should wear helmets, it is not a legal requirement in the
UK for cyclists to do so. Despite a number of campaigns to raise
awareness of cycle safety, the wearing of helmets is still not
normal practice.
In terms of brain injury, this is
an ongoing and increasingly high-profile area for concern, and as a
new government comes into power in the UK, this is a particularly
interesting time to look at the issue of introducing legislation in
favour of cycle helmets.
At the annual Hugh James brain
injury conference earlier this month, it was acknowledged that one
of the major issues affecting the treatment of brain injury is the
fact that many are not detected at A&E units. This very fact is
being specifically addressed by the brain injury association
Headway during brain injury awareness week 2010. Headway is hoping
to highlight the danger signs that require head-injured patients to
immediately return to hospital if they have previously been
discharged.
The charity is also highlighting
the need for high-quality information on post-concussion symptoms,
which can persist for anything from a few days to several months or
even years.
Headway promotes the use of cycle
helmets, believing that they can save lives and prevent lifelong
disability.
In response to Headway’s 2009
campaign to make it compulsory for children under the age of 16 to
wear helmets while cycling, the Government stated that it continues
to promote helmet wearing on a voluntary basis, especially by
children.
But should the new UK Government go
a step further and legislate in favour of proactive headgear for
pedal cyclists as it has for motor cyclists and follow the
precedent set in Jersey where cycle helmets for children have now
been made compulsory?
Some argue that there is no
demonstrable link between helmet wearing and the safety of
cyclists, citing that cyclists are no more vulnerable than
pedestrians.
Many believe it is an issue of
freedom of choice, while others feel that compulsion to wear
helmets would result in a decrease in cycling at a time when it
should be encouraged as a green alternative means of transport.
Adding fuel to the fire is a High
Court ruling that, in principle, cyclists without helmets could
face reduced compensation or damages if it were shown that a helmet
would have prevented or reduced their injuries.
Establishing the principle of
contributory negligence – meaning that the injured cyclist may lose
a percentage of their compensation because they are adjudged partly
to blame for the injury – for cyclists who ride without a helmet,
this could alter the way in which cyclists’ claims are dealt with
in the future.
For the first time, a judge has
supported the argument that an accident victim could be partly at
fault for his own brain injury if they were not wearing a bicycle
helmet.
All cyclists should take note of this decision.
The Department for Transport
confirms the number of cyclists being killed or seriously injured
on UK roads is increasing significantly, with figures from one 2009
period up almost 20% on figures from the same period in 2008.
With this in mind, many are
surprised the law has not evolved in the area of bicycle helmets,
especially for children.
Children are particularly
vulnerable while cycling as they do not have the awareness, balance
or experience that adults have when it comes to the risks involved
in cycling without a helmet.
As a society, we owe it to them to
protect them as best we can, and I wholeheartedly support
compulsory helmet laws for children.
Brain injury can result in a range
of long and short-term symptoms, including behavioural changes or
difficulties, problems with memory, loss of concentration and poor
planning and organising. Ultimately, wearing a cycling helmet
remains a personal decision, but it is important to consider the
potentially serious implications of not doing so.
As part of Brain Injury Awareness
week Hugh James will be supporting Headway by wearing hats on
Friday as part of the Hats for Headway campaign.
If any local organisations wish to
get involved they can find out more information on www.headway.org.uk
Andrew Harding is a
partner and head of the neurolaw law team at Hugh James. He is also
the chairman of Headway Cardiff