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news
White cycle helmetSwiss MPs reject helmet law
Swiss MPs have voted overwhelmingly against making cycling helmets mandatory for children under 14, saying that it was an issue for ‘personal responsibility’.
As part of the debate over road law revisions, MPs voted 136 to 46 against the requirement.
The opposition to the move, made up of representatives from across the political spectrum, noted that 70 per cent of children already wear helmets.
Transport Minister Doris Leuthard disagreed however. She told World Radio Switzerland: “It is not that we think parents won’t pay attention to kids, and thus put this helmet rule in place. Every head injury we can prevent makes this regulation worth it.”
Australia and New Zealand began to implement helmet laws for all cyclists in 1990 and 1994 respectively. A survey in New Zealand earlier this year suggested that helmet requirements had halved the number of cyclists on the road.
Latest Comments
- wtjs 2 sec ago
there is no law saying that you must leave 1.5 m when passing a cyclist, there is only a "should" in the Highway Code...
- brooksby 4 min 45 sec ago
I hate to get all "wing mirror"-y, but I was under the impression that the big area of glass at the front of a car is the windscreen. Not the big...
- Kapelmuur 9 min 28 sec ago
Just to redress the balance slightly re white van drivers, one time I was at the side of the road fixing a mechanical when a WVD stopped and...
- Steve K 13 min 38 sec ago
Find someone else who has already bought one over here, and ask to borrow their receipt.
- wtjs 50 min 49 sec ago
Honestly, can't people just realise that different things work for different people...
- SteveBr 1 hour 40 min ago
Stop building bike lanes and just close a couple of car lanes. Much cheaper and more useful. Cars don't use the left lane anyway. They are too...
- wtjs 1 hour 47 min ago
There should be a disclaimer at the head of this report:...
- BikingBud 3 hours 14 min ago
Absolutely this, riders gonna crash it is a race. And tempering any aspect of that competitiveness would detract from the race but developing...
- webbierwrex 4 hours 35 min ago
I came to say the opposite, I always liked Giro shoes but they're insanely narrow. I hope they did change the fit.
- Aluminium can 9 hours 24 min ago
Frame weight is about a hundred grams less than a CAAD 12 disc, which can be picked up cheap these days on gumtree. Heck, get the CAAD12 non disc...
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12 comments
I remember the three stooges whinging about "stupid laws aimed at motorists" on top gear once whilst driving through Switzerland now reading about this decision regarding cycle helmets I can only conclude that they must be the most sensible people around.
As a Swiss, I have to concur.
I remember the three stooges whinging about "stupid laws aimed at motorists" on top gear once whilst driving through Switzerland now reading about this decision regarding cycle helmets I can only conclude that they must be the most sensible people around.
Cuckoo ...
Do they mandate seatbelts, whether in cars or aircraft?
Seatbelts in cars, but not helmets. Not sure about aircraft.
Good call as it will increase participation...but hemets are still compulsory on our holidays up in the Alps
Another company who don't want my money.
I think it is rather older in most of Europe, including Switzerland - you can't prosecute below 14.
There might of course be a liability falling on the parents, but how would that work? "I told the little blighter to wear his helmet, but does he listen?"
I don't know how the rules stand in Switzerland BUT one of the problems with introducing compulsory helmet laws for children is that it is difficult, or sometimes impossible, to enforce laws against minors. In the UK, anyone under the age of 10 cannot commit a criminal offence. Therefore, if this rule was in place here, you could get a ticket, just tear it up and nothing would happen. Brilliant!
Switzerland, the land of common sense.
And cheese. Don't forget the cheese.