Bike helmet brouhaha

Academics fail to reach the all important consensus on the need for the compulsory wearing of bike helmets:

The [professor] behind the push to make bike helmets compulsory more than 20 years ago has hit back at a pair of academics from Sydney University who are now calling for the laws to be overturned.

The testimony of a bike-riding, crash-prone geezer is offered as proof of the need for helmets:

Rob Rodgers, 60, from Carindale in Brisbane's east rides to and from work every day.

He says he is in favour of wearing a helmet.

"I'm personally in favour of them because I wouldn't be here if I wasn't wearing one several times in the last 10 years," he said.

Mr Rodgers says he remembers his first accident well. It was on the day of the 2002 Bali bombings - October 12.

"I came off my bike head first at about 40 kilometres an hour in under a couple of seconds," he said.

"I went from on the bike head first straight into the road and my helmet ended up in about six or seven pieces.

"Then it was about December 6 last year where I had another one where I hit my head pretty badly.

"Certainly the one side of my head, judging by the damage to the helmet, would have been severely rubbed away if I wasn't wearing one."

Good point, adults shouldn't be allowed to make their own helmet-donning decisions when it's possible their heads could be "severly rubbed".