Anyone get one of those free helmets in London this morning?
Comments
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Jonny_Trousers wrote:thelawnet wrote:Jonny_Trousers wrote:TGOTB wrote:To all the posters suggesting that the AA are somehow "forcing" people to wear helmets or suggesting that cycling isn't safe without one: Do you make the same allegations about your local bike shop? They also provide bicycle helmets, high-vis vests and a bunch of other safety gear. Is your LBS also trying to put people off cycling?
The AA aren't forcing anyone to get a helmet, or to use one; all they're doing is making them available (for free) to people who want one.
And let's not forget those free bicycle safety check stalls they set up in London from time to time.
The AA do that? Are you quite sure about that?
By 'they' I was not referring to the AA.
'They' molest children too.0 -
thelawnet wrote:meanredspider wrote:The idea is that they keep them in the office (as per the article) for short trips. If the scheme fails, the AA will be left with lots of lids. Why is anyone worried?
Because it's absurd.
I've done a bit of jogging around central London, along the pavements across roads, I'm sure it's not entirely safe, but no-one nags me to keep a helmet in the office, people would think I was a wally for running down the street with a helmet on.
You wouldn't say 'Alright lads I'm off down the pub, now where's my walking helmet/New Balance shoes'', sure if you were doing a marathon you'd get kitted up, but not for casual use.
Pedestrians in London are in a significant amount of danger, over 100 killed per year, you could get killed walking to the office, why are they so worried about cyclists?
It would be more effective to hand out copies of Cyclecraft, Boris bike users are likely to be particularly inexperienced and would benefit from some proper guidance.
I took my wife into London a while ago, train into Waterloo, I said 'why don't we get Boris bikes'. So we did, we made our way across Waterloo bridge in the cycle lane, it was ok, then we got the other side where it was giant buses and multiple lanes of traffic. She found it very intimidating and refused to continue so we crossed the road at the pedestrian crossing and looked for a docking station to get rid of them. Giving such people helmets and saying 'here you go, this is all you need to go play in the road with the buses and HGVs' is absurd and dangerous.
+1___________________________________________
People need to be told what to do so badly they'll listen to anyone0 -
TGOTB wrote:To all the posters suggesting that the AA are somehow "forcing" people to wear helmets or suggesting that cycling isn't safe without one: Do you make the same allegations about your local bike shop?
My LBS doesn't give away helmets free. And they don't try to sell you one because they know how controversial a subject this is.___________________________________________
People need to be told what to do so badly they'll listen to anyone0 -
When will the first one appear on Ebay?0
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http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/ ... iveaway.do
AA president Edmund King said: "You see some people on Boris bikes who are not proper cyclists. They need a helmet more than most. They're weaving all over the place."
Er, since when is a helmet going to stop people weaving around all over the place.
It never ceases to amaze me that otherwise intelligent people believe cycle helmets have magic accident-preventing powers.0 -
thelawnet wrote:It never ceases to amaze me that otherwise intelligent people believe cycle helmets have magic accident-preventing powers.
But they do have magic lessening the impact on the skull when coming into contact with hard surfaces powers. Try it, it's amazing!0 -
Jonny_Trousers wrote:thelawnet wrote:It never ceases to amaze me that otherwise intelligent people believe cycle helmets have magic accident-preventing powers.
But they do have magic lessening the impact on the skull when coming into contact with hard surfaces powers. Try it, it's amazing!
Have the helmets in question been tested to show their efficacy at this particular task? I wouldn't take it for granted that they have, given that they are presumably sourced based on price. Surely they should hand out full face helmets instead - they are much better.0 -
Jonny_Trousers wrote:thelawnet wrote:It never ceases to amaze me that otherwise intelligent people believe cycle helmets have magic accident-preventing powers.
But they do have magic lessening the impact on the skull when coming into contact with hard surfaces powers. Try it, it's amazing!
Just out of interest JT, what do you think about helmets for babies?
http://www.thudguard.com/
Surely any parent who does not properly equip their infant with protective head gear while learning to crawl/walk is negligent? I mean, given how much a helmet would lessen the impact on the skull when coming into contact with a hard surface, and all.0 -
notsoblue wrote:Jonny_Trousers wrote:thelawnet wrote:It never ceases to amaze me that otherwise intelligent people believe cycle helmets have magic accident-preventing powers.
But they do have magic lessening the impact on the skull when coming into contact with hard surfaces powers. Try it, it's amazing!
Just out of interest JT, what do you think about helmets for babies?
http://www.thudguard.com/
Surely any parent who does not properly equip their infant with protective head gear while learning to crawl/walk is negligent? I mean, given how much a helmet would lessen the impact on the skull when coming into contact with a hard surface, and all.
AA president Edmund King said: "You see some people learning to walk and crawl are not proper walkers. They need a helmet more than most. They're weaving all over the place."
Personally, I can't believe people are getting so het up about all this. Sure they're a motoring association, but they're giving us free stuff. It may not be stuff we really want, or need, but it's free stuff non the less.0 -
UndercoverElephant wrote:Personally, I can't believe people are getting so het up about all this. Sure they're a motoring association, but they're giving us free stuff. It may not be stuff we really want, or need, but it's free stuff non the less.
If I'd been a motorist in 1896 and the rival horse carriage organisation were handing out free red flags, to be led by a pedestrian walking in front of the vehicle, I doubt the motorists would have been terribly impressed.0 -
Like I said before, no-one's forcing anyone to wear a helmet. A bunch of people who have already decided they want a helmet are being given one. For free. No strings attached.
If you want a free helmet, go and get one (if there are any left). If you don't want one, dont go. Everyone's happy :-)Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
notsoblue wrote:Just out of interest JT, what do you think about helmets for babies?
I do think any baby commuting by bicycle in a busy city should wear a helmet, yes.0 -
TGOTB wrote:Like I said before, no-one's forcing anyone to wear a helmet.
Untrue. Various jurisdictions around the world, including in the UK, are in fact forcing, or considering forcing, people to wear helmets, and the gifting organisation is saying '97% of our members say you should be wearing one' [you non-tax-paying, red-light-jumping, road-blocking scum-of-the-earth]0 -
If anyone wants to discuss with the AA, try these:
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/ne ... ffice.html
Just in case it gets taken down (the normal call centre sounds overloaded) these numbers might be helpful:
Edmund King, President of the AA
Office (Basingstoke): 01256 492380
Twitter: @AAPresident
Sue Dodds, PA to Edmund King
Office (direct dial): 01256 491538
Here's the number I used:
Sue Beeson, Head of AA PR
AA brand and all AA products/services
Office: 01256 495969
Didn't get Sue Beeson, but one of her team. He was totally unaware that this might be remotely controversial.Riding on 5310 -
As a general rule, If it's free, it's either not worth having, or there's a catch - i.e. it's not actually free or the person giving it away wants something in return.
[/grumpycynic]1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Sorry to wander off-topic, but does anyone know if they're still available? Was thinking of picking one up for my son after work.
As you were.0 -
Interesting article
http://road.cc/content/news/34557-aa-ha ... ndon-today
It is very bright - wonder how many people we will see out on the roads over the coming weeks
1997 Gary Fisher Big Sur
2009 Scott Spark 60
2010 Ghost 5000
2011 Commencal Ramones AL1
2012 Commencal Meta AM10 -
kelsen wrote:Sorry to wander off-topic, but does anyone know if they're still available? Was thinking of picking one up for my son after work.
As you were.
Sorry m8 - check here http://twitter.com/AAPresident1997 Gary Fisher Big Sur
2009 Scott Spark 60
2010 Ghost 5000
2011 Commencal Ramones AL1
2012 Commencal Meta AM10 -
Pufftmw wrote:kelsen wrote:Sorry to wander off-topic, but does anyone know if they're still available? Was thinking of picking one up for my son after work.
As you were.
Sorry m8 - check here http://twitter.com/AAPresident
What a twit (ter)
I like how he refers cyclists to Highway Code Rule 59, which is accompanied by this example of suicidal riding position::
The twitter feed is pretty self-righteous coming from the leader of an organisation representing cyclist killers I have to say.0 -
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wtf has this got to do with the AA, they should concentrate on driver training.0
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woodford2barbican wrote:wtf has this got to do with the AA, they should concentrate on driver training.
It's unclear, some people have suggested they have benign motives, reading some of the AA President's twitter comments I would suggest that is not the case:
" CTC stunt back-fired as they forgot Highway Code is free on-line. Rule 59 YOU SHOULD WEAR A CYCLE HELMET. Did they read it?"
"Just done BBC London on cycle helmets. Gaby Roslin says helmet saved her partner David's life. James Cracknell agrees. Free AA helmets today"
"@prj45 No becasuse the Highway Code is free on-line and states Rule 59 YOU SHOULD WEAR A CYCLE HELMET"
WTF HAS it got to do with them????????
The CTC are not offering to do car safety checks for motorists are they?0 -
thelawnet wrote:woodford2barbican wrote:wtf has this got to do with the AA, they should concentrate on driver training.
It's unclear, some people have suggested they have benign motives, reading some of the AA President's twitter comments I would suggest that is not the case:
" CTC stunt back-fired as they forgot Highway Code is free on-line. Rule 59 YOU SHOULD WEAR A CYCLE HELMET. Did they read it?"
"Just done BBC London on cycle helmets. Gaby Roslin says helmet saved her partner David's life. James Cracknell agrees. Free AA helmets today"
"@prj45 No becasuse the Highway Code is free on-line and states Rule 59 YOU SHOULD WEAR A CYCLE HELMET"
WTF HAS it got to do with them????????
The CTC are not offering to do car safety checks for motorists are they?
Perhaps someone can point out the difference between 'should' and 'MUST' as stated in the HC. Should is advisory. MUST is compulsory and accompanied by a link to the relevant legislation.
I'd do it myself but I don't tweet0 -
thelawnet wrote:woodford2barbican wrote:wtf has this got to do with the AA, they should concentrate on driver training.
It's unclear, some people have suggested they have benign motives, reading some of the AA President's twitter comments I would suggest that is not the case:
" CTC stunt back-fired as they forgot Highway Code is free on-line. Rule 59 YOU SHOULD WEAR A CYCLE HELMET. Did they read it?"
"Just done BBC London on cycle helmets. Gaby Roslin says helmet saved her partner David's life. James Cracknell agrees. Free AA helmets today"
"@prj45 No becasuse the Highway Code is free on-line and states Rule 59 YOU SHOULD WEAR A CYCLE HELMET"
WTF HAS it got to do with them????????
The CTC are not offering to do car safety checks for motorists are they?
To be fair, the IAM did issue some very good and well thought out advice to cyclists last year. It's a reasonable thought that any representative group of road users should reach out to other groups. I don't think the AA did as good a job, though.
http://www.cyclingactive.com/news/don%E ... hy-be-safe0 -
woodford2barbican wrote:wtf has this got to do with the AA, they should concentrate on driver training.
His Twitter profile actually states:Hi I'm Edmund King, president of the AA. We look after the interests of motorists and have done since 1905.
Not all road users then, just motorists...0 -
On 29 June 1905 a group of motoring enthusiasts met at the Trocadero restaurant in the West End of London. This was the inauguration of the Automobile Association, formed to help motorists avoid police speed traps.
Credit to it, this is actually on the AA website!
http://www.theaa.com/aboutaa/history.html0 -
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prj45 wrote:woodford2barbican wrote:wtf has this got to do with the AA, they should concentrate on driver training.
His Twitter profile actually states:Hi I'm Edmund King, president of the AA. We look after the interests of motorists and have done since 1905.
Not all road users then, just motorists...
The clue is in the name. This seems to be echoing the comments the other day on another thread complaining that trade unions only looked after their members interests and not those of the general public.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0
