„Við viljum gera allt sem við getum til að laða fleiri að hjólreiðum frekar en að fæla það frá því hjólreiðar bjóða upp á svo gríðarleg tækifæri í baráttunni við offitu og hjartasjúkdóma.“

Talsmennirnir leggja einnig áherslu á að hvetja ætti börn til hjólreiða og gera þeim kleyft að gera það með öruggum hætti frekar en að refsa þeim.

„Það þarf að verja tíma og fjármagni í að takast á við hætturnar í umferðinni, svo sem umferðarhraða. Öruggar og vel hannaðar götur ættu að vera forgangsmál og börn ætti að þjálfa til að hjóla eftir þeim af öryggi, með verklegri kennslu og hagnýtum leiðbeiningum. Fyrir tiltölulega lítinn pening gætum við boðið öllum börnum upp á slíka þjálfun svo þau fái notið alls þess jákvæða sem hjólreiðar bjóða upp á.

Þetta er úr fréttatilkynningu Sustrans og CTC sem eru landssamtök hjólreiðamanna á Bretlandi, vegna frumvarps sem lá fyrir þingi Norður Írlands í janúar. LHM ætti kannski að senda frá sér samsskonar tilkynningu vegna frumvarps til umferðarlaga sem lögfestir í fyrsta skipti hjálmaskyldu ungmenna undir 14 ára aldri og opnar á heimildir til ráðherra að útvíkka skylduna á fullorða og skerða frelsi þeirra enn frekar með víðtækari hætti svo sem skyldunotkun á endurskynsvestum. Einnig er lagt til að taka af þeim réttinn að velja sér þá leið sem þeir telja best henta sé boðið upp á sérstakan hjólreiðastíg án þess að neinar lágmarkskröfur liggi fyrir um hönnun slíkra stíga. Þarna er ekki átt við blandaða stíga og gangstéttir heldur eingöngu hjólastíga ef ég skil þetta rétt, þeir eru ekki margir á Íslandi enn.

LHM hefur komið með athugasemdir á öllum stigum málsins en þessi tvö meginatriði hafa ekki fengið fengið næga athygli og kannski ekki verið lesin nægilega vel. Amk. var ekki einu sinni farið rétt með nafn LHM í greinargerðinni, hvorki núna né í fyrra. Athugasemdir LHM má lesa hér og hér til hliðar er listi yfir tengdar greinar með ýmsum fróðleik um ókosti hjálmaskyldu og rangar fullyrðingar um gagnsemi reiðhjólahjálma sem eru ágætir í þeim aðstæðum sem þeir eru hannaðir fyrir þ.e. högg þegar notandinn dettur sjáfur, högg sem samsvarar að hámarki 20 km/klst hraða.

Hin norska Institute of Transport Economics birti núna í febrúar nýja skýrslu sem komst að þeirri niðurstöðu að samkvæmt nýjum rannsóknum væri gagnsemi reiðhjólahjálma ekki merkjanleg þegar slys á höfði, andliti og háls væru skoðuð heildstætt.

Svona hjálmalög eru því ekki bara óþörf og tilgangslaus heldur hreinlega skaðleg. Innan LHM eru einstaklingar sem hafa kafað ofan í málið frá ýmsum hliðum og tekið þátt í alþjóðlegu samstarfi og eru því tilbúnir til að ræða þessi mál málefnalega og af dýpt en íslensk stjórnvöld hafa ekki enn viljað taka þá umræðu og koma ekki með nein haldbær rök fyrir þessum ákvæðum fyrirhugaðra laga.

Sjá frétt um skýrslu TÖI: http://cyclehelmets.org/1207.html?NKey=57

Sjá fréttatilkynningu Sustrans og CTC: http://www.sustrans.org.uk/about-sustrans/media/news-releases/cyclists-oppose-ni-helmet-legislation

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Cyclists oppose NI helmet legislation

Press release issued jointly by CTC (Cyclists' Touring Club) and Sustrans - 31 January 2011

Cycling organisations have joined together to oppose controversial draft legislation on cycle helmets, scheduled to be debated by the Northern Ireland Assembly today [5pm, Monday, 31st January].

MLAs are due to have the opportunity to vote on a Private Members' Bill, tabled by the SDLP MLA, Pat Ramsey. If enacted, the Bill would make it an offence to cycle without a helmet.

The cycle campaign group, the CTC, and the charity, Sustrans, warn that compulsory helmet wearing could lead to a dramatic drop in the number of people who cycle in Northern Ireland.

They point to countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada where significant falls in cycle use were recorded after cycle helmet legislation was introduced.

"We want to make cycling as safe as possible, just like the supporters of this Bill," explains Tim Edgar, the CTC's Northern Ireland Development Officer.

"But there's robust evidence that making helmets compulsory puts people off cycling in the first place.

"That would have a significant impact on the current levels of cycling which we've worked so hard to increase over the last few years."

And the groups also argue that the proposed legislation would be impossible to enforce properly. Indeed, Ross McGill, Sustrans' Sustainable Transport Officer, has had first hand experience of an unsuccessful attempt to introduce such legislation in the United States.

"I was a teenager living in upstate New York when cycle helmet legislation aimed at children was introduced," recalls Ross.

"No child I knew took any notice of the law. It was quite impossible for the police to enforce, even though there were more officers on patrol than you would see in Northern Ireland.

"We've already seen that the police here are unable to prevent people cycling on the pavement, although that's also illegal.

"So why add to their workload by introducing another law they won't be able to enforce?"

The cycle advocates say that any benefit of the proposed legislation in terms of cycle safety would be more than outweighed by the negative impacts on the region's health.

"We want to do everything we can to attract more people to cycling, rather than deter them - because cycling has such a huge potential to help tackle obesity and prevent coronary heart disease," says Tim.

The groups also emphasise that children should be encouraged and enabled to cycle safely rather than being penalised.

"Money and time needs to be invested to tackle the causes of road dangers such as speeding traffic," says Tim.

"Safer, well-designed roads must be a priority and children should be given the skills and confidence to use them, through on-road training and practical guidance.

"For a relatively small sum of money, we could give every child the opportunity to cycle safely and enjoy all the benefits that brings."

ENDS

Editors' notes:

1. CTC is the UK's national cyclists' organisation, with 67,000 members across the UK. It is the oldest and largest cycling body in the UK, established in 1878. CTC provides a comprehensive range of services, advice, events and protection for its members and works to promote cycling by raising public and political awareness of cycling's health, social and environmental benefits. The CTC is a UK-wide not-for-profit organisation which promotes the rights of cyclists. For more details on the CTC, visit: www.ctc.org.uk
2. Sustrans is a charity which works in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. It enables people to travel by foot, bike or public transport for everyday journeys through practical projects, such as the National Cycle Network and Safe Routes to School. For more details on Sustrans, visit: www.sustrans.org.uk
3. Sustrans Rural Safe Routes to Schools programme - a combination of safe walking and cycling routes around schools plus cycle training and fun events - has led to a rise in the number of children  walking or cycling to school of 25 - 40%.
4. In England, the National Standard on road cycle training for children is called Bikeability. After taking part in Bikeability, according to an IPSOS /MORI survey 2010, the following outcomes are achieved:

* 86% of children feel safer and more confident when cycling on the road
* 87% of parents feel more confident allowing children to cycling on the road
* 51% (children) and 49% (parents) report an increase in frequency of their child riding

National Standard Cycle Training has high satisfaction levels with 500 children in NI trained to date.  Sustrans and the CTC are encouraging the NI Assembly to introduce National Standard cycle training to Northern Ireland.

For further details, please contact Liz Fawcett, Liz Fawcett Consulting on 028 9020 0811 or 0771 943 5662.