25/07/2026
With more than 70% of our population being reliant on walking and cycling, people centric infrastructure development is essential.
"Fewer people cycling or scooting does not make roads safer. It makes them more car-dominated, and more dangerous overall."
That's Ciarán Cannon, President of Cycling Ireland, and he isn't mincing words. Because Ireland's road safety minister just floated an idea that splits cyclists straight down the middle: mandatory helmets and hi-vis for everyone on a bike.
Minister Seán Canney was on The Last Word radio show talking about a crackdown on e-scooters. Private scooters are set to be treated like mopeds, with compulsory helmets, registration, and a ban on under-18s riding them, after what the government calls a concerning pattern of serious injuries.
Then came the line that pricked up cyclists' ears. If those scooter rules work, Canney said, "then of course we will look at helmets and hi-vis on cyclists as well." He didn't rule out registration plates for bikes either.
Now, this is a "considering," not a law. It's conditional, and it's months away from anything concrete. But you know how these things go. Once a minister says it out loud, it's on the table.
Cannon, a former government minister himself, came out swinging. He called mandatory helmet and hi-vis rules "performative policy-making that diverts attention from real risks." It's an argument a lot of us have made at the kitchen table.
"The greatest danger to people cycling or using scooters does not come from their clothing or headwear," he said. "It comes from motor traffic speed, volume and road design. Helmets do not prevent collisions. High-visibility clothing does not slow vehicles, fix junctions or address dangerous overtaking."
And there's a stat that stings. In Ireland, more than 80% of serious or fatal cycling collisions happen in daylight, on straight roads. Not in the dark. Not on some blind bend. In broad daylight, where hi-vis makes little difference and the driver simply had to look.
Australia has had mandatory helmet laws for decades, and cyclists there still argue about whether they helped or just gutted everyday riding. The UK has gone back and forth on hi-vis for years. In the States, the helmet question comes up every time someone gets hurt.
None of us are anti-helmet (well, I'm not). Most of us wouldn't dream of leaving home without one (I don't). The fight isn't about whether a helmet is smart. It's about whether the law should force it, and whether reaching for the rider's wardrobe lets everyone ignore the speeding, the close passes, and the junctions that keep getting people killed.
And whether we are keeping very casual cyclists off bicycles who are arguably at such a low risk by not wearing one.
