In June, I published an article identifying that the safety of London cycle hire scheme users could depend on other road users and the bicycles themselves.

The article mentioned that helmets, while not mandatory in the UK, would not be supplied to users, creating the potential for brain injuries if a user were to have an accident, and which could be prevented by a helmet.

The Daily Telegraph has since published a report. 

It confirms that since the beginning of the scheme, at the end of July, there have already been two confirmed cases of severe head injuries, with five reported injuries in total following the use of the hire bikes. The reporting mechanism is not clear.

This could be the tip of the iceberg, as in our experience many injured cyclists may not have reported accidents or injuries for a variety of reasons.

While the wearing of a helmet may not have prevented these severe head injuries, the publishing of the figures so soon after the start of the scheme does little for the reputation of the scheme, particularly with the Telegraph's assertion that the use of helmets is no longer on the agenda.

It may be that if the numbers of injured cycle hire users are published repeatedly, the helmet debate will have to be reopened. 

While there are practical issues in the storing and supplying of helmets to all the schemes' users, now may be the time that Transport for London needs to revisit the helmet issue and do more than simply provide guidance on helmet use within its cycling code of conduct.

It should be noted that a large number of the hire scheme users are bringing along their own helmets. These users presumably planned to use a hire bicycle, and are therefore willing to carry their own helmet with them.

With the hire scheme yet to be fully rolled to the general public, the fear is that the next group of users open to the scheme will be those who wish to hire a bicycle on the spur of the moment, and so are unlikely to have a helmet with them.

Those urging London Mayor Boris Johnson to reconsider the supplying of helmets have picked a good time for this to be revisited.

We will be following developments in this debate.

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