Don't make cycling helmets compulsory

It's a tragic irony that a cyclist has been killed by an Olympic bus in London the day Team GB won its first Olympic Gold cycling medal. I know Britain's new hero Bradley Wiggins (left) thinks helmets should be made compulsory (though I see that as a headline not as a direct quote from him yet). I'd say a more effective change would be to copy the Netherlands and Norway (and other countries I'm sure) where the driver is automatically held legally responsible after any cyclist/vehicle collision. In the UK the solution is always that every other user must "armour up" against cars. I'll grant you the stamp pic of Bradley shows him in a helmet – ditto all the riders in the Tour de France I think who were hurtling through crowded lanes at speed. I'd wear one in those conditions too. I know this is an endless debate – my husband Chris wears a helmet everywhere and I don't – but if you wouldn't relish the prospect of wearing a helmet in a car to reduce the risk of head injuries you'll know in a nutshell why some folk don't want to wear them all the time on bikes.

On the radio this morning, many people automatically sympathised with the bus driver – that reflects where the bulk of our experience lies – and it ain't behind the handlebars. Since cycling proficiency went out the window at schools far fewer people are like me - sometimes cyclists sometimes motorists. If you do use two wheels you KNOW how hard it is to be the "blasted cyclist" on roads "holding up traffic". I'll be honest. I've gone through green lights at busy junctions on the green man to escape the deadliest position on the roads -- inside a bus or lorry turning left which might not see you or even look. If pavements beside cobbled streets are deadly quiet I'll also nip up rather than run the risk of getting my wheel wedged on Edinburgh's uneven and irregular cobbled roads. But I always hop off (after having a good look at the road traffic) if a see a pedestrian – after all they were here first! Ironically I think being a motorist makes me a better cyclist -- there are ground rules about looking carefully before any maneouvre that are rammed home powerfully in the driving test and in daily driving – but apply to being in motion on any mode of transport. I also think cycling makes me a better driver -- I check my inside mirror before turning left and I know a "wobbling" cyclist may be dodging sunken drains which could throw them into my path. But THE easiest way to improve safety for cyclists is to have more. While cyclists are still the exception not the rule, the odd cyclist is seen as an irritant not a fact of life, motorists don't get used to sharing space and - above all -- council chiefs don't seize the nettle and give bikes top priority in road layout. That's the only way to really raise bike use and make cyclists feel safe -- go to any German city and you'll see what I mean! As usual Britain is all talk and relatively little action – with cycle lanes that don't connect and sometimes even end in telephone boxes or bollards. So lets bite the bullet and give cyclists priority on roads. Olympics success means a new generation of British kids will want to saddle up - and a generation of policy maker will spend years trying to find any better way to tackle inactivity, obesity and road congestion in a oner! So fix the problem -- dinnae persecute the cyclist!