At their Annual General Meeting in May at the Albert Hall, the Women’s Institute will vote on whether to campaign for making the use of a cycle helmet a legal requirement.
Each year the WI adopts a resolution that forms the centrepiece of their campaigning and awareness raising activity over the next 12 months and beyond. With over 200,000 members in the UK, the WI is the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the country and carries considerable political influence.
However, the case for cycle helmets is far from clear cut, with a great deal of research showing that compulsorily helmet laws can put people off cycling and have little or no impact on deaths and injuries. The figures on the relative risk of cycling, compared with other sports, make interesting reading.
The Cycling Embassy for Great Britain has set up a petition calling for the WI to abandon this resolution, and instead to focus on “creating conditions in which all members of society will feel safe and comfortable riding a bicycle.”
Here at www.ridein.co.uk, we support the argument that wearing a helmet should be every individual’s personal choice. At a time when we are trying to encourage cycling in the UK and around the world, our laws should be making it easier, not more difficult, to get on a bike.
What do you think?