German teenagers fire BB gun at cyclists – but get more than they bargain for

A 12mph speed limit is ludicrous. I'm not that fit and my bikes are absolutely not top of the line and yet my AVERAGE speed over a decent journey/commute WITH STOPPING at red lights etc is easily 12mph. So my cruising speed is going to be at least 15 if not 18mph.

The poor guy himself said "If I’d had a helmet on, I might not have been injured as badly as I was". This story wouldn't have been reported if he hadn't been so badly hurt.

Chocks away lads…

@robgodd er... if your point was "not taking a chance" why would you limit your actions to reduce your chance of serious injury or death just to head protection capable of fairly mild damage mitigation in certain circumstances? Mine has certainly helped save me from bangs from overhanging foliage, which would probably have been fine after less than a day, but would it have helped here? We don't know. Indeed: what has changed "these days" about blind corners? Perhaps that's the issue and one should just slow to walking pace? (Of course that would probably increase your risk from following motorists who ... don't). I think "illegal road obstruction-> talk about helmets" is missing several points and indeed "these are not the cyclists you're looking to inform". If it makes you feel better though...

@robgodd I take the chance because I find wearing a helmet uncomfortable and I find it affects my ability to build up a mental picture of what's happening around me as it affects my hearing. It's personal preference of course but to me the risk is worthwhile. I do wear a helmet when it's raining and at night as I have a light on it. In these circumstances the balance of risk is shifted for me personally. It's easy to be wise after the event but you do have a point. If your main aim is to minimise risk of a head injury from falling off your bike then always wear a helmet.

All local community Facebook groups are populated largely by the worst sort of ill-informed and confidently wrong halfwit, competing with other halfwits to see who can shout the loudest about something they know nothing about.

Where does the article say he was wearing full leathers? I've bashed my unprotected knee a few times and been fine after a day or two. I don't want to think about bashing my unprotected head, though.

There's nothing finer than local facebook pages for recreating the angry villagers scene from 'Frankenstein'. In these troubling times it's almost comforting to have something so unfaillingly predictable.

Don't forget motorbike armour / knee / elbow pads. Since "he also suffered a shoulder fracture in three places and broken ribs," ... without full leathers he could have died from internal injuries / damaged his spine with terrible consequences also. Why take a chance?

Horrific story, but these days it's so silly to not be wearing a helmet. As the article proves, you literally don't know what's round the corner. His injuries may have been no different of course, but why take the chance?