Do Cyclists Need Mandatory Helmets?

The issue of bicycle helmets is still controversial. Should all cyclists be compelled to wear a helmet, or should they be allowed to take their own responsible decision? In some countries, Spain among them, there is strong pressure to make bicycle helmets mandatory. Here, a cocktail of opinions, beliefs and numbers is administered to the unaware public who swallows it and mostly agrees that “them ” (the cyclists) should all wear a helmet. Legislators and decision-makers are car-dependent and, unless they are pressed strong enough, prefer giving some showy treatment to a single symptom (helmets to hide away the head injuries of cyclists in road crashes) than working hard in fighting the basic illness: generalised lack of road safety through malign motor traffic. 1. Case description In our over-consuming countries, cars have achieved the status of “holy cows”, with plenty of space to roam and rest. Non-motorised road users have to get out of their way or go around them, but there is no way of getting around the detrimental side effects of car culture on public health: road accidents, noise and air pollution. It has been found that pollution is even more harmful than accidents in many cities [1]. So any encouragement of non-motorise