3.11.10 Helmets

At what point did the world decide that helmets are essential everyday wear across a range of activities, whether for work or for leisure?

Cycling

Apparently it's now essential always to be wearing the most outlandish helmet you can obtain, whether that's with regard to the colour of it, or the shape/height of the lightweight plastic pudding mould stuck on top of a skull that may or may not contain a brain of noticeable size.  From my own observations, it's pretty clear that the cycling 'abilities' on display suggest that many skulls are in fact deficient regarding useful contents.  Maybe I'm being unfair, but is it really necessary in all cases for helmets?  I observed someone riding a bike the other day, so slowly that her speed did not exceed that of someone undertaking a brisk walk.  A walker alongside the cyclist, 12 inches from the kerb, would certainly not have been wearing a helmet, nor would the walker deem it necessary when entering the carriageway to cross the road!  So, there is some inconsistency floating around, wouldn't you say?  I have no statistics to hand, but I would be confident in betting that there are no more fatalities of bike riders than there are each year for pedestrians.  I don't see the H&S twats insisting that we all wear hats.

Of far more benefit to drivers, pedestrians and cyclists themselves would be a complete ban on iPods etc.  I cannot be trusted, while driving, to eat a Twix, use a telephone, operate a SatNav or wobble about all over the road, but a cyclist is able to do pretty much anything and is often intent on committing suicide while listening to "Lying In The Arms of Mary" (or perhaps Dyin' would be more appropriate) whether that's by Smokie, or more likely The Sutherland Bros & Quiver (1976).

Highway Maintenance Staff

I saw a chap yesterday, who got out of his car (having parked off the road) and moved a couple of traffic cones.  For this tricky manoeuvre, he had to be wearing a yellow hard hat - why?  I was tempted to nudge him along at 40mph as a form of human pinball, but thought better of it, after considering the consequences.  I wouldn't want to dent my car, and I'd only get 2 points for yellow anyway.

A Turban Question

I have no idea of the answer here, but what happens when a Sikh wearing a turban wants to enter a building site - or for that matter, wants to move a traffic cone, or indeed ride a bike?  Answers on a postcard.

Look At My Helmet

The practice of strategically placing a hard hat on the back shelf of a car is one that proves beyond all doubt that the driver is in fact a wanker.