The helmet does not make a lot of followers among the cyclists; they would be only 29% to bring in during the day against 41% nationally, according to the study by Opinion way for the insurer MMA.
“I see myself badly disheveled get to work”
“I bike every day and I do not want to burden myself with a helmet. I do not feel at all threatened. How awful if it became a requirement,” Said Michel, 65 years old. He wears a reflective tape on each ankle but is above all not to mess down her pants.
Reza, 41 and Perrine, 37, make a lot of two-wheelers. Her motorcycle and bicycle road, two activities for which they consider the essential helmet, but the city is not the same. “We ride quietly on the sidewalks or on the waterfront. And I see myself badly disheveled get to work. No, the helmet is for our children, “says Perrine.”It is useless and it is really ridiculous aesthetic side, I’m anti-bicycle helmet and I’ll stay,” adds Reza strongly.
“I do not understand that the helmet is not compulsory”
Fanny, 26, is part of the minority of Bordeaux who have become accustomed to bring a helmet. “I had a bike fall that earned me a fracture, my wheels were stuck on the tram tracks,” she says. It will take about one year to the student nurse to get back on track after this traumatic experience. “And now, if I do the headset without bike, it’s like I had no flying belt,” she explains.
Her friend Gwen, 23, prefers to ride with the wind. “The helmet and safety vest, it keeps you warm, it’s not nice and not very aesthetic,” she says. “It is true that it is not glamorous but I do not care!” retorted Fanny. That teams also lights and a reflective vest at night. “I do not understand that wearing a helmet is not mandatory,” says the young woman.
“One obvious constraint”
“The helmet and reflective vest should not be mandatory, can be worn if desired but this is an obvious constraint! Behind this obligation there is the automobile lobby that sees that the bike takes to drive market share. In cities that have mandatory helmet and safety vest, practice has declined significantly, “says Alain, president of the association Bike City in Bordeaux.
For the association, it seems more interesting to focus on the bicycle lights and wearing reflective clothing to improve the safety of cyclists.