NCSB

NCS BOARD - STATEMENT OF POLICY: CYCLE HELMET WEARING There are many differing views on the merits of cycle helmet wearing, all based on deeply held conviction. As a consequence, the NCS Board considers that it would not be appropriate for it to offer a definitive statement on the issue. However, it is very clear that arguments appearing to disavow completely the efficacy of cycle helmet wearing, or on the other hand claiming it to be a major influence in reducing injury to cyclists, are both wide of the mark. In pursuit of the national target of a very significant increase in the number of trips by bicycle, which has all-party political support, the NCS Board seeks to promote sensible cycle use and to work for the benefit of a safer traffic environment for cycling. Whilst cycling offers notable environmental benefits as a mode of transport for short journeys, the scale of the problem of obesity in the UK means that the public health gains from significant increases in cycle use and regular exercise are achieving greater prominence and are equally important. Recognising that every user of the road, including the pedestrian, is vulnerable to the risk of accident, reducing levels of risk to cyclists through better marketing, education, traffic management and road engineering is an essential part of the NCS Board's approach. Educational measures need to reach other road users as well as cyclists. Raising public awareness of the benefits of cycle helmet wearing is a subset in this matrix. The NCS Board wishes to ensure that the question of wearing cycle helmets is placed in its proper context. Arguments which seek to present cycling as an inevitably dangerous or hazardous activity, or which suggest that helmet wearing should be made compulsory, risk prejudicing the delivery of those very benefits to health and environment which cycling can deliver, and serve to confuse the general public about the wider social and economic advantages of cycling. It must remain a decision for the individual as to whether to wear a helmet for some or all of their various cycling activities. Parents will need to take this decision on behalf of their children, bearing in mind all the particular circumstances. The Board is clear that any mandatory requirement to wear helmets on all occasions would be prejudicial to the realisation of the benefits which safe cycling can offer our society as a whole.