Helmet-free protest ride hits wall of condemnation from public health experts
This is Troy Parsons. He is to bike helmets, what Pauline Hanson is to child vaccination. Only he is better dressed and wears a nice You will hat.
What Troy should do, to show power of his convictions, is pedal full-speeding down a hill and then dive headfirst into the concrete. He should then stand up and say, “See, I’m okay.”
Trouble is, he won’t be able to because he will be brain-damaged and won’t be able to remember why he is standing in the middle of the road with blood pouring from his head.
Anyone who has fallen off their bike and banged their head on the road knows how important a helmet is. I fell off my bike at very low speed. For a while the world went very funny. When I came to, my helmet, but not my skull, was shattered.
The Age reported: Australia’s medical experts are emphatic in their view that mandatory helmet laws save lives and prevent serious injury.
This month the chief health officers from each state and territory issued a joint statement in support of the laws.
Helmets reduce the amount of kinetic energy transferred to the brain in a crash or fall, the health experts said.
“Brain injury caused by bicycle falls and crashes can result in death or catastrophic physical and cognitive disability,” they said.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons also supports compulsory wearing of bicycle helmets.
“The brain has a similar consistency to firm jelly,” trauma surgeon Christian Kenfield said.
“It’s not designed to absorb the type of impact that occurs when the skull hits a hard surface. A helmet helps to absorb the energy from the fall and protect the brain from the full impact.”
VicRoads and TAC also oppose any change to the law.
Samantha Cockfield, TAC’s senior road safety manager, said repealing helmet laws would be inconsistent with the state’s long-term goal of zero road deaths.
“If we are to get to zero, we need everyone to make good choices on the roads, and for cyclists this means being visible and wearing a helmet so they can protect themselves when the unexpected happens,” she said.
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