With many of us using our bikes more over the summer months, it’s essential to ensure that we are safe on the road. According to official government figures, serious injuries sustained by cyclists increased by 16 per cent from 2004 to 2024, although it’s noted that cyclists are not legally obliged to inform the police of non-fatal casualties, so the true figure is likely to be far higher. Here, Dr Daniela Burlacu, a consultant in emergency medicine and clinical director of the Emergency Department at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, explains the preventable, yet common, mistakes that result in cyclists needing to seek emergency treatment.
Forgetting to do your helmet strap up
One of the most important protective measures cyclists can take is wearing a properly fitted helmet – it’s absolutely essential, even for very experienced cyclists, but I see so many people not wearing them. While a helmet cannot prevent all head injuries, they can reduce the severity of injury in many incidents. Unfortunately, occasionally we see fatal injuries in hospital, particularly where there has been a collision with a vehicle.
Usually when we see cyclists with a head injury it’s because they are not wearing a helmet, but we’ve also treated injuries due to the helmet not being tight enough and often the people we treat haven’t done the strap up under their chin. If you don’t do it up, then it means the helmet can come off, and it can move on impact, so the helmet isn’t offering much protection.
