I came across the article about the cyclist who wasn’t wearing a helmet when hit by a vehicle.
What struck me most is how your article does not, in the slightest, frame the importance of helmets to protect ones self. No, instead, it’s about the collision itself and an elderly driver not noticing the seasoned Vancouver cyclist.
A cyclist very dear to me wrote off a smaller hatchback when the driver failed to notice him signaling to turn left in his lane, while wearing a bright yellow jacket and with bicycle lights flashing in a dusky afternoon. Taken out from behind, he crumpled the windshield and took out the frame at the roof line. His helmet dented the roof of the vehicle, and the helmet itself exploded outwards taking the brunt of the force from impact with the metal roof. A few stitches from shattered glass in his back, and he walked away from it.
Without this helmet, his situation would have been entirely different. Without this helmet, his impact on our health care system would have been entirely different.
A helmet is a piece of equipment which starts around $30 to $50. A cyclist doesn’t require insurance to operate their bicycle. If they’re hit by a vehicle and aren’t wearing a legally required helmet, their medical is still covered by our health care system. Beyond caring where your brain matter goes, where is the personal responsibility to society to protect themselves best as able?
But your article is about how great it is that this seasoned Vancouver cyclist survived a helmetless impact with an aged Victoria driver.
But, what does one expect from Victoria journalism, in a city where cars are the enemy and cyclists have no responsibility of their own.
Jenna Gustafson
Victoria
