Rugby man's campaign to make wearing cycle helmets mandatory reaches Parliament

A campaign by a man from Rugby to make the wearing of cycle helmets mandatory when on a public highway has reached the Houses of Parliament.

Oliver Dibsdale sustained a serious brain injury after falling from his bike when he wasn't wearing a helmet, in 2015.

His MP, Mark Pawsey, spoke in the House of Commons today, saying Mr Dibsdale's doctor told him that wearing a helment would have likely meant he suffered a far less serious injury.

Mr Pawsey said; "He bitterly regrets his decision on that particular occasion to ride without a helmet.

"He has spoken to me in a very moving way about the impact that his injuries have on his family, the guilt that he feels for the amount of time they have had to spend caring for him and he very much wants to help other families avoid this fate and this Bill will achieve this aim.

"Oliver makes the point that it will be far easier for parents to insist that their children wear a helmet if it becomes a legal requirement. He finds it extremely frustrating whenever he sees cyclists on the road without helmets because from his personal experience he knows all too well the risk that they are taking."

There have been arguments that making it the law to wear a helmet would be difficult to enforce, but Mr Pawsey said it shouldn't be a problem.

"While it would certainly create an additional burden on the police, it doesn't strike me as being particularly difficult to enforce in comparison with other offences.

"If mandatory safety measures are acceptable for car drivers they should surely be acceptable for cyclists. Now we know that cyclists are the most vulnerable road users."

Mark Pawsey's Road Safety (Cycle Helmets) Bill was listed for a second reading on Friday November 24, but is unlikely to become law due to a lack of parliamentary time.