ride to work

In yesterday's Guardian, which I've only managed to read tonight, was a long article about cycling and helmets. The reporter went to Paris and discovered that the percentage of cyclists with their heads protected was much smaller there than in the UK. He goes on to analyze the reasons and make some curious observations on the way.

His conclusions are ambiguous. He cites studies that support wearing a helmet and finds statistics that attribute no benefit to them at all. Paradoxically, wearing a helmet might give a cyclist a false sense of security or create in a passing driver the illusion of a cyclist's invulnerability, enhancing the danger to the cyclist in either case.

I cycle to work, and I wear a helmet – every day. It's not something I like to do; it's not even something I consider sensible in any way. I like my helmet and would never ride a mountain bike without it, for fear of hitting a rock unprotected, but as there are few rocks on the streets of London, I consider the helmet a superfluous accessory. The plastic shell does not protect in the jungle of the city.

It won't make a difference if a double-decker cuts me off to make the bus stop at the last moment and forty tons of metal intersect with the front wheel of my bike. It won't fend off injury if a taxi driver suddenly opens a door into my bike, whacking me into oncoming traffic. The delivery van on the other lane will just jolt a little when it squashes me. And if a Maserati takes me out from below, hitting me from the side despite the stop sign, my legs will be pulp, helmet or not.

What will prevent serious injury in these cases – and all have almost happened to me – is luck and quick reaction, having one's senses sharply focused on traffic and ignoring everything else. Barely scraping by and avoiding getting hit by a millimeter happens frequently. It's the unfortunate way things go.

It would be much better, and the streets would be safer, if these situations didn't develop in the first place. Obviously, a bigger difference can be made by the party that inflicts injuries than by that which tries to avoid them. Bus driver, cabbies and motorized commuters must be more aware of cyclists if dangers are to ebb. And what better way to educate them than to be out there and bike-commute to work in large numbers? Get on your bikes – helmet or not!