Nottingham MP to campaign for a law to force cyclists to wear helmets

Graham Allen, MP for Nottingham North, is to campaign for laws to force cyclists to wear helmets, reports the Nottingham Post.

Following a rise in cyclist deaths on local roads close to his constituency – from two last year to seven this year – Allen will join a delegation of councillors on a trip to Westminster next week to meet Stephen Hammond, Parliamentary Under Secretary for State.

The call, likely to be unpopular with the majority of cyclists, will also be made alongside a call that all bicycle sales include helmet, high vis clothing and lights – as well as banning BMX bikes on public roads.

However the delegation will also call for better cycle provisions, namely more dedicated cycle paths and more cash for training in schools.

There’s more at the Nottingham Post.

The contentious ‘compulsory helmets’ subject is one that rumbles on. Last year another MP – Annette Brooke – called for a helmet compulsion bill for children. Earlier this year Bradley Wiggins and Team GB’s Jacob Roberts waded into the debate. A widely held feeling, in the industry at least, is that such a law would have a detremental impact on the number of people willing to cycle. Perhaps even more controversially, some research has found the impact of helmets in accidents to be questionable.

There’s more on the topic here.