tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917932169846040654.post1389355536891731913..comments2024-03-29T06:57:27.799+00:00Comments on Jon Slattery: Times' cycling safety campaign backed by 11,000Jon Slatteryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13038317396308507738noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-917932169846040654.post-33516458107318302302012-02-05T09:15:40.909+00:002012-02-05T09:15:40.909+00:00I feel misled by the Times, as I signed up to this...I feel misled by the Times, as I signed up to this campaign as a way of making the streets safe, and all the publicity in the first two days said that was what it was. But then on Saturday, in the special supplement about cycling safety, we find the usual helmet promotion nonsense, with a two page spread of James Cracknell promoting his helmet manufacturer (he's sponsored by them) and telling everyone not to ride a bike, because you'll die: completely counterproductive. The list of items to make cyclists safe listed helmets first, despite the fact that there is no reliable evidence to show that they work, and reliable evidence to show that the don't. Last on the list was the most beneficial method of staying safe on a bike, training. It would appear that this promising campaign has been hijacked by the usual health and safety zealots.<br /><br />I've written to the editor asking for an article putting the case against helmets, of the same length and prominence as the articles in the Saturday supplement.<br /><br />Richard BurtonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com