Motorcycle safety

Sir,
Thank you for printing MP Katie Clerides’ letter “Wear your helmet; it will save your life” (August 26).

I am appalled at the lack of interest in wearing motorcycle helmets in Cyprus. Even hirers in Cyprus seem to grunt when I mention that I want a helmet to fit, and once one is provided it is often followed with the comment “you don’t have to wear it , you can attach it to side of the bike if you want.”

I have been riding a motorcycle in the United Kingdom for 18 years. I regularly participate in organised racing at established race tracks like Brands Hatch and Donnington, so I am no killjoy. Last year I crashed racing at Donnington while riding at 120mph , breaking 28 bones in the process but with the benefit of wearing full protective gear including helmet. The result? I walked out of hospital on my own two feet less than 10 days after the accident and I was back at work four days after that. I am fully recovered and back on my bike.

In road accident claims, insurers in Britain almost without question agree to replace a helmet if it has had contact with a hard surface.

In Britain the motorcycling public are well aware that a “spill” on a scooter at 5mph without a helmet can be more dangerous than one at 120mph with a helmet. The fact is that concrete kerbs and asphalt do not distinguish between the egg shell protection of a naked skull and the protection of a quality helmet.

Chris Christofi  , Chigwell, Essex

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.