Cycling News


Cyclist unease over controversial IMO helmet proposals

Shane Foran, Safety Officer Galway Cycling Campaign -Feachtas Rothaiochta na Gaillimhe c/o Galway One World Centre, William St. West, Galway.

Irish and international cycling advocates are involved in a last minute lobbying effort to the Irish Medical Organisation in advance of the IMO's AGM which starts today. The cyclists have been galvanised into action by a controversial motion at which calls for government legislation to force cyclists to wear helmets. "This has come as a complete shock to us" said Shane Foran of the Galway Cycling Campaign. "Compulsory helmet laws have been highly controversial and widely discredited where ever they have been tried. Both the British Medical Association and the European Cyclists Federation have rejected such measures on the grounds that they are effectively self-defeating. In Australia the main effect of helmet laws ten years ago was to discourage cycling, with an average drop of 35% in the number of cyclists. Even today in Western Australia the number of cyclists is still 5-20% below the pre-law level despite an increase in the overall population."

The effectiveness cycling helmets in preventing injury is also disputed. "Cycling helmets are only designed to provide limited protection in simple vertical falls, they are neither designed, intended nor expected to provide protection in impacts with moving motor vehicles, the cause of 95% of cycling fatalities and most serious injuries". Among Adult cyclists the main cause of falls is defective road surfaces, "in effect the sponsors of this proposal are seeking to make cyclists liable for local authorities who fail to maintain or properly reinstate the roads. This is completely unacceptable" say the cyclists.

The cyclists have been receiving expressions of support from colleagues in the US, the UK and Australia and are contacting the European Cyclists Federation (ECF) for additional assistance. The ECF represents 400,000 cyclists in 31 countries and has taken a strong position against helmet laws, which are viewed as a distraction from other measures which prevent cycling accidents and which improve safety for all road users.

Ironically the disputed motion came to light because the cyclists were preparing submissions in support of other IMO proposals including one for a ban on bull bars and another for 20mph speed limits in built up areas. These proposals have been welcomed by the cyclists who view them as critical in promoting the safety of both cyclists and pedestrians. Ireland has the highest child pedestrian death rate in Europe at 1.31/100,000 in 1997. "We are calling on the IMO to endorse lower speed limits and reject compulsory helmets" concluded their spokesman.

Child Pedestrian Death Rate / 100,000 :1997 - Children Age 1-14

Ireland 1.31 Great Britain 1.21 Switzerland 0.96 Spain 0.94 Belgium 0.94 Finland 0.94 France 0.91 Denmark 0.85 Norway 0.81 Netherlands 0.66 Austria 0.79 Germany 0.64 Italy 0.49 Sweden 0.54

Source: Tomorrow's roads: safer for everyone, The Government's road safety strategy and casualty reduction targets for 2010, UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, March 2000

<Read letter to the delegates to the AGM of the Irish Medical Organisation 19/4/01- 22/4/01>


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