Chris Boardman's ITV segment on cycling during lockdown leads tocomplaints over his lack of helmet

QUOTE:
It's time to dig out that archive pic again, and on this occasion it's because Chris Boardman dared not to wear a helmet while he was steadily pootling along in a short clip that featured during yesterday's Tour de France highlights coverage on ITV4.

As we outlined further down the page, Boardman was explaining how cycling during lockdown boomed, and how councils quickly moved to reallocate space to cyclists and pedestrians in an era of social distancing. Wise as his words were, as you can see from some of the comments above some believe that Boardman's lack of helmet is a sin that can't be atoned for.

Cycling’s a low-risk activity - you don’t need special safety kit. The single place most head injuries are suffered is in cars - do you wear a car helmet?

"Cycling UK is opposed to both cycle helmet laws and to helmet promotion campaigns because these are almost certainly detrimental to public health. Evidence shows that the health benefits of cycling are so much greater than the relatively low risks involved, that even if these measures caused only a very small reduction in cycle use, this would still almost certainly mean far more lives being lost through physical inactivity than helmets could possibly save, however effective.

"In any case, there are serious doubts about the effectiveness of helmets. They are, and can only be, designed to withstand minor knocks and falls, not serious traffic collisions. Some evidence suggests they may in fact increase the risk of cyclists having falls or collisions in the first place, or suffering neck injuries"

In 2014, Boardman also claimed that helmets were "not even in top 10 of things that keep cycling safe."

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling...er-2020-277267