Cycling: Helmets
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of making the wearing of cycle helmets a legal requirement for cyclists.
Answered by Simon Lightwood
The Department for Transport considered the case for mandating the wearing of cycle helmets as part of a cycling and walking safety review in 2018. The review concluded that the safety benefits were likely to be outweighed by the fact that this would put some people off cycling. This would, in turn, reduce the wider health and environmental benefits.
The Department recommends that cycle helmets should be worn and this is set out in The Highway Code, but does not intend to make it a legal requirement.
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