Clik here to view.
Critics say Norman Baker's decision to 'enjoy the wind in his hair' while cycling means he's unfit for his job
Any parent knows the maxim "do as I say, not as I do". But one bold transport minister is attempting to adopt it in government by publicly declaring that he cycles daily without a helmet despite being responsible for cycling safety.
Norman Baker, the minister responsible for cycling, walking and local transport – and lifelong bike enthusiast – has reignited a debate that divides bike lovers. The Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes has declared it his "libertarian right" to put himself at risk on roads by not wearing a helmet, prompting claims from road safety groups that he is unfit for the job.
Baker said: "I don't wear a helmet when I cycle. The first reason is that I don't want to. I don't want to wear something on my head. For me the joy of cycling is to have the wind in your hair, such as I have left. It's free, it's unencumbered; I don't want to be loaded down.
"It is a libertarian argument. The responsibility is only towards myself. It's not like drinking and driving where you can damage other people. You do no harm. I'm not encouraging people not to do this, I'm just saying I make a decision not to."
He cited evidence that drivers take more care around hatless bikers than they do with those wearing helmets. "Wear a helmet and drivers feel they can drive closer than they can. I don't think the safety case for helmets is clear-cut," he said.
One Bath University academic claimed to have proved this theory by measuring how wide a berth drivers gave him in a helmet, without one and in a blond wig. His closest encounters were in the helmet.
Baker insisted that he supported the government line on road safety for cyclists and that the inconsistency of his own choice was not relevant. "I don't always have to live government policy. We all have a life outside politics. The official government line is to draw attention to the benefits – especially for children. I don't dissent from that line. I'm just saying personally I don't want to have to wear one."
But Joel Hickman, spokesman for the road safety charity Brake, said that Baker was setting a terrible example and the evidence was conclusive that helmets saved lives. "Last year, over 17,000 cyclists were injured on UK roads with over 2,500 killed or seriously injured. The vast majority of these deaths and serious injuries were the result of a head injury. This is precisely why many of our international and European partners have already introduced compulsory helmet wearing," he said.
"Ministers should practise what they preach and when a minister directly responsible for cycling safety refuses to wear a cycle helmet, we then have to look at their suitability for the role."
One of Baker's first acts in government was to cancel the ministerial car that would traditionally have been permanently on call for the five-minute dash from the transport department's Victoria offices to the Commons for a vote. Instead he adopted the department's Brompton, which he uses – helmetless – to make the trip sometimes several times a day.
In an interview with the Guardian he also revealed that he had won a small victory for London bus users that he hopes to repeat elsewhere in the country. He has convinced Transport for London to drop what he described as "unnecessary and annoying" safety announcements on buses. "It was a horrible grating female voice which said: 'Bus stopping at the next stop, please stand well clear of doors.' TfL agreed to get rid of it," he said.
He's now appealing for the public to come forward with other examples of annoying announcements for him to do away with.
Clash of ideas
Norman Baker is not the first minister whose personal choices have been slightly at odds with their ministerial responsibilities. Ken Clarke, famous for his love of fine food, wine and cigarettes, was a health secretary; Alan Johnson, who left school at 16 to become a postman, went on to be higher education minister and then education secretary without a degree; Hilary Benn was a vegetarian who represented the meat industry as agriculture secretary; and Barbara Castle was the transport minister who didn't drive. This week Nick Clegg got hammered for denouncing nepotistic internships, despite the fact that he was the beneficiary of the odd leg-up from his well-connected parents.