Motorcycles and the crash helmet law in the UK

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I have held a motorcycle licence for over twelve years and I’m just curious to understand something that doesn’t really make sense to me.  It’s regarding the law on vehicle tax, insurance and crash helmets etc.

It all started one day as I was watching an old bloke on an electric scooter whizz down the road with no crash helmet on, no registration number plate, and one would therefore assume no road tax or MOT.  I presume that he wouldn’t have insurance either in that case, so my question is, is this all perfectly legal?

Okay, so now let’s come round to your bog standard bicycle.  You can actually get an electric or petrol motor to fit to your bike which will kick in and give you a little bit of extra oomph when you need it.  However, these vehicles still don’t have to have a registration number plate.  They still do not require an MOT, road tax or insurance either, even though it should now be classed as a motorised bicycle ergo a motorcycle!

So my question is, why can’t I ride my motorised bicycle (a Kawasaki GT750) on a bicycle path, when my taxation class is BICYCLE!  It’s all a bit silly really isn’t it?  Surely I should be able to take my motorbike anywhere a bicycle is allowed to go (i.e. a designated cycle route or cycle paths etc.)  I should even be able to ride on a BMX track if I so wish!

As the owner of a motorised bicycle I should have the option, like cyclists to wear protective clothing as and when or IF I see fit (or can be bothered as it happens) - that includes the motorcycle crash helmet.  After all, cyclists aren’t required by law to wear a crash helmet are they?  I’d like to know what other people think on this issue.

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kawakid

spot on mate.......

27/05/17 kawakid

0

Yamaha

It should be our choice if we wear a helmet or not

12/11/13 Yamaha

1

MikeP

I also don't use social nitwitting sites such as Farcebook, mainly because I don't have any friends, and would like the ability to sign in using a simple email address or code word authentification.

03/07/11 MikeP

-1

Kenny (Site Admin)

I Petra,

I suspect I'll make it possible to create a Weekly Gripe profile as well as the ability to sign in with an existing account. You'll also still be able to post as you do now.

03/07/11 Kenny (Site Admin)

5

Petra

Kenny,

I am happy to sign in with my e-mail address but I don't have an account with Facebook or any other social networking site so I am hoping that that is not the only way you are going to allow commenting in the future.

Please condider simple registration at this site with email address.

Thanks.

01/07/11 Petra

-16

anon

It would appear that you can but not to worry, after all it is still a free country

01/07/11 anon

-5

Anon

I am not posting realy just taking the easy route to see if one can still post as somone else

01/07/11 Anon

12

Kenny (Site Admin)

Thanks MikeP,

We're not quite finished yet. More features to add and the sign-in bit is one of them. Sorry, I had to get 'something' out as soon as possible as it's been dragging on for a while. Now that we're rolling I should make some progress.

01/07/11 Kenny (Site Admin)

0

MikeP

Nice looking new site. Are the user names now protected or can anyone still post as someone else?

01/07/11 MikeP

-9

gubfunckel

Don't get me started on pedal cyclists, the bane of the road, dangerous, uninsured idiots most of them...as afar as I am concerned they should be required to have at least 3rd party insurance and to have passed a cycling proficiency test..

30/06/11 gubfunckel

10

KENNY

I not long ago bought a american open face crash helmet,only to be told I cannot wear it,is this true or just a load of old tosh,surely one helmet is as good as another as far as safety goes?.If the law states all bikers must wear a lid,surely they can choose what style helmet they want even if it doesn't originate from the u.k.

13/04/11 KENNY

-18

Boblet

Well in Aging Rocker. There is not one innovation on a foreign bike that did not start out on a Brit bike, where did the motor cycle industry go wrong? As for speed my inter was quick enough.

05/04/11 Boblet

-13

Ageing Rocker

I passed my bike test in 1962 and still have bikes. In those days you could ride the biggest and most powerful bike you could afford and ride it with "L" plates and no helmet and no formal tuition. The good old days! Anyone from Manchester will remember the 1010, Skyways, The Ranch, Joes at Romiley, the list goes on.What a great bunch of motorcyclists. The bikes were nowhere as fast then as the modern superbikes and the roads weren't as congested as today. Neverthless I still feel we should have freedom to ride without a helmet, and really experience "The Wind In Your Face" sensation that motorcycling is all about.

05/04/11 Ageing Rocker

2

Pinky

I've been riding for over 25 years, and have always worn a lid.
Apart from the safety, it keeps my head warm and the rain out of my eyes.
Maybe twice in all that time I've forgotten to put in on, and ended up goin ghome for it, as I felt naked/exposed and vunerable.
The BIG issue here is the nasty little cyclists all over the road, with no licence or insurance.
They have total disregard for the law of the road (especially here in London).
I would happily recommend that ALL leg powered cycles be registered and have number plates. This would help to reduce accidents massively, as the idiots could then be traced.
The amount of dents and scratches put in cars by cyclists would be reduced and as importantly, if they were licenced and insured, then cyclists would have to take responsiblity for their actions.

11/03/11 Pinky

-3

Sooty

Does compulsory crash helmet usage in the UK reduce risk? All evidence offered as conclusive for the use of crash helmets as a successful safety/risk management device are based on a 1980 report produced in the USA for the American Journal of Public Health in which States who repealed their compulsory helmet laws were compared with States that didn't. This report was used by the British Medical Journal as evidence for the success of compulsory helmet law. It has since been shown that all the data used in the report were seriously flawed and the maths used to produce the alarming statistics were fundamentally flawed, (Adams, 1981). The reality, as ever, is very much different to the predictions of "experts". Real life statistics showed that the States who had repealed the compulsory helmet law actually had less fatal accidents than those which hadn't! What the "experts" refused to take into account were the realities of riding a motorcycle. As a motorcyclist of 25 years experience, I know that when I ride without a helmet I don't ride as fast because a bug hitting your face at 40 mph isn't as sore as one hitting your face at 60 mph and that I enjoy the feeling of the wind in my hair but I know that if I crash without a helmet the chances are it will hurt a bit more, therefore I ride more defensively. This common is sense, "If I feel more protected, I take more risks". Motorcycle statistics bear this out, accidents have increased as safety/risk management measures have increased. Fatality rates remain constant regardless of safety/risk management measures introduced since motorbikes became a common mode of transport.

18/02/11 Sooty

-7

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