Will bike helmets be made compulsory?

NEW laws forcing cyclists to wear helmets will be considered by the Government in a safety review.

It follows the jailing in September of Charlie Alliston, 20, who knocked over and killed pedestrian Kim Briggs, 44, in East London on a bike with no front brakes.

At Tuesday’s walking and cycling safety conference, Transport Minister Jesse Norman reportedly said: ‘If you want to have a society where a 12-year-old can get on a bicycle it’s a serious issue as to whether you’re going to mandate hi-vis or helmets, and there will be many arguments about whether the safety benefits outweigh ... the deterrent effect that might have on people cycling. So we’re going to leave that to the review.’

But Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman, whose mother Carol was killed in a collision with a pickup vehicle while cycling in Connah’s Quay, North Wales, in July last year, said: ‘The Cycle Safety Review will be based on evidence, and evidence shows that helmets do not make a significant difference to people’s safety.’

Sam Jones, of Cycling UK, said: ‘There is no justification for making helmet-wearing compulsory.’

Mr Norman tweeted yesterday: ‘To be clear: there is no “plan” re: compulsory helmets or hi-vis for cyclists as suggested in @thetimes. As @BikeBizOnline reported, I don’t take a position on this.’

Some 102 cyclists were killed on Britain’s roads in 2016, up 2 per on the previous year.