London 2012: Bradley Wiggins says helmets should be compulsory for road cycling after Olympic bus kills cyclist in East London

A 28-year old man was killed yesterday shortly after Wiggins' win, near the Olympic Velodrome by a the driver of a coach - an official London 2012 media bus. The driver has since been arrested under suspicion of dangerous driving.

Wiggins suggested at a press conference following his gold medal win "legalising helmets to make them the law to wear."


The scene of the accident, yesterday (Getty)

"Ultimately, if you get knocked off and you don’t have a helmet on, then you can’t argue. You can get killed if you don’t have a helmet on." the champion cyclist added.

Wiggins spoke about his experiences of cycling on London's streets, saying "Having lived in London for 10 to 15 years now, it has got a lot busier since I was riding a bike as a kid around here. I was knocked off several times."

"Cyclists are never going to go away however much drivers moan – and as much as cyclists might moan about certain drivers, they are never going to go away. So, there has to be a bit of give-and-take really."


Cycle safe. Not like this. Wiggins celebrates his victory (Getty)

Sadly ironic as @bradwiggins wins Gold in London, a cyclist is killed by an Olympic bus in Hackney. Time to make roads safe for cyclists.

— Colin McCredie (@colinmccredie) August 1, 2012

A little disappointed to hear Bradley Wiggins trotting out car drivers favourite cycle safety myths this morning. Cycling is perfectly safe.

— Dan Thompson (@artistsmakers) August 2, 2012

Wiggins suggests cycle helmets should be compulsory. The road safety community consensus is that this would deter people from cycling.

— Brian Lawton (@mrblawton) August 2, 2012

I reckon there will be a bike helmet/safety advert, featuring Bradley Wiggins, on our TVs before the end of the summer. Mark my words.

— Sean Burns (@SeanThomasBurns) August 1, 2012