Cyclists across Australia will ride without helmets on Saturday to protest against mandatory helmet laws, despite the possibility they will be fined by police.

Freestyle Cyclists, an organisation that opposes the mandatory wearing of bicycle helmets, has organised “helmet optional” group rides in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Wellington.

The group’s president, Alan Todd, said the safety benefits of helmets were outweighed by the effect they had on discouraging cycling.

“We find that the mandatory helmet law is the single greatest barrier to the uptake of bicycle use in Australia,” he said. “It has created an image of cycling as a high-risk activity, and practically killed off the casual everyday use of the bike.”

He acknowledged helmets reduced the risk of injury during an accident, but said the introduction of helmet laws had not seen any drop in injury rates at a general population level.

“We accept that a helmet might help in the event of an accident … [but] you must distinguish between crash data and population data. It hasn’t had any measured safety benefit at the population level. Across population, the reduction in injuries was no more than the drop in cycling.

“It beggars belief that in the 21st century we take something as benign and beneficial as bike riding and we punish people.”



In paediatrics we know that helmets make a difference. Dr Andrea Christoff

It is an offence in every state and territory to cycle without a helmet. Laws were introduced in the early 1990s after a campaign from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. In 1994 adults were granted an exception in the Northern Territory, but children are still required to wear helmets.

Todd said he had organised a helmet-free ride in Melbourne last year without fines. A NSW police spokesman would not confirm attendees in Sydney would not be fined.

Edward Hore, the president of the Australian Cycle Alliance, said he supported the protest.



“We think helmets should be a choice,” he said. “We’re not talking about banning helmets, we’re talking about making them optional.



“If you’re in a peleton down a beach road, and you’re not wearing a helmet, you’re a bloody idiot, let’s be frank. But we’re talking about the rider in the park with a family, the local commuter, the gentle ride down the street. Once you’ve measured your risk you can decide whether or not you want to don a helmet.”

Dr Andrea Christoff, a specialist in emergency care at the Children’s hospital at Westmead, disagreed.

She said Todd’s focus on general population injury rates overlooked the safety benefits of helmets, especially for children. “If you look at injury rates per million in the population, you can’t apply that to just one factor,” she said.

“You can’t just take all injuries. It’s the percentage of all head injuries we need to look at. You need to look at the mechanism. People who have a head injury with a helmet and those who don’t – those are the numbers.”

She said her experience of children’s emergency care proved helmets were crucial, and she supported mandatory laws for both children and adults.

“I’m an intensive care specialist and I’ve seen the worst spectrum. I’ve seen adults and children die after traumatic brain injuries. I never want to see that happen.

“The impact of a head injury can be longstanding and result in significant brain injury and it can be life threatening. In paediatrics we know that helmets make a difference.”

Todd said that he expected children to be present at Saturday’s protest rides, and it was up to parents whether they should wear helmets.

“We expect parents will bring children on this ride. It’s a protest ride and we are calling it helmet-optional. We are not giving instructions to parents about what they do with their children.

He said Freecycle Australia was not pushing to repeal mandatory helmet laws for children “at this stage”.

“We don’t think the Australian public is ready for the conversation on children yet.”