Having recently announced a shakeup in traffic laws, the DGT are still consulting as to the viability of forcing cyclists to wear crash helmets in cities.
The UPyD political group has filed a notion urging the government to make legislative changes to agree a single set of rules for cycle riders in the city, and to withdraw the announced mandatory use of crash helmets. Pedro Delgado, a professional Spanish cyclist who won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989, joined in a debate on the rules relating to helmet wearing on Tuesday, as, according to one group, ConBici, more than 20 municipalities, including Barcelona, Murcia, San Sebastian, Seville, Valencia, Vitoria and Zaragoza have opposed the measure, as have the world of professional cycling. On his official blog, Pedro Delgado has been critical of the decision and has dismissed it as “stubbornness” of the government trying to force helmet use also in the city, ignoring the arguments that the move is for safety reasons.
The state association of victims of accidents, the DIA, has come out in support of helmet use, saying that they believe that “there are more pros than cons” in the introduction of the amendment requiring cyclists to wear helmets in town, “Nothing has been easy to implement, but the long term benefits are obvious. The same happened at the time with the helmet on a moped. If we voluntarily were helmets because it is safer, then why not always?”, argued the president of the association, Francisco Canes, “The goal is to reduce traffic accidents and victims, and so it has our full support”, he concluded.
Separate to the debate on use of helmets, Scandinavian car manufacturer Volvo are increasing the safety of their vehicles on the roads, with a long term goal that “by 2020, no person dies or is seriously injured in one of their models”, according to a statement this week, in which the CEO of Volvo Car Spain, José María Galofré, noted that 50% of accidents suffered by cyclists each year are related to traffic and that, at present, there are three million people who bike daily in Spain, 50 of whom will die each year from traffic accidents.
Galofré was making a presentation introducing the next stage of their vehicle safety equipment, showing off their new cyclists detector that allows the car to detect cyclists and advise drivers of the presence of a risk using different radar systems fitted as standard the car, that has the potential to bring the vehicle to a complete stop before a sudden or unexpected movement by the cycle.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/38912/
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