I have highlighted the pertinent bit but whole story copied here for context:   James May: One helmet law for all   I've made a bet with Jeremy Clarkson. Should I be arrested?   Telegraph.co.uk By James May Published: 1:39PM BST 03 Oct 2008   As I may have said before, I am absolutely convinced that society functions better if it strives for as few laws as possible. I have therefore decided that in May's Britain there will be only one. "The Law" will be just that. That law will state, quite simply, don't be a prat. Remarkably, this covers everything that actually matters and, with the intercession of a reasonably minded jury, will ensure that the law remains a reflection of the will of the people, which is as it should be. So: evading your income tax makes you a prat, because paying tax is a civilising duty and one from which everyone benefits out of all proportion to the amount of money dished out. Try organising your own bin collection, emergency services, hospital treatment, street lighting, sewage disposal, road repairs, passport controls and air force with the paltry pile of cash you hand over every year, and you'll see what I mean. Driving like a lunatic through a town centre makes you a prat as well. That much is obvious to 95 per cent of the population, so it's against the law. If contested, it will go to the courts. After hearing the evidence the judge will simply turn to the jury and say, "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, has this man been a prat?" If the foreman answers, "Yes, your honour, not half," then he will be banged to rights. At a lesser level, serving a trio of connoisseur sausages on a bed of mustard-mashed maris piper and drizzled with mouth-watering jus, in a bowl, when you could have knocked up bangers 'n' mash on a plate, is prattish and therefore will bring the wrath of Moses upon your head. Obviously, anyone convicted of extreme prattishness, such as rape or murder, will spend a lifetime breaking rocks. In the case of lesser lifestyle offences, such as saying "basically" at the beginning of a sentence, it will be up to the jury to decide how long you will spend locked in a room listening to the Archers omnibus on a looped tape, very loud. Easy. Meanwhile, however, in the real world, there are so many new laws being created that ignorance of them is beginning to seem like a fair defence. Recently, I heard of one that dictates when Farmer Giles is allowed to harvest his crops. Why? It's his look-out. This, finally, brings me to motorcycle helmet law, which has been hotly debated since it became compulsory to wear one in 1973. It must be acknowledged that wearing a crash helmet on a motorcycle is good sense. I always wear mine, and, with the exception of the odd trundle up and down the road outside my house to check that I really have cocked-up the carburettor settings on my Honda 90, I've never ridden a bike without one. But should I have to wear one, and am I being a prat if I don't? It's my head, it's the place wherein I exist, and therefore it is surely my business. No carefully selected jury in May's Britain would convict. I'm also curious to know how it feels to ride a bike with no lid on, just the once, so I can at least have an informed opinion on it. Encouragingly, helmet law seems not to be taken too seriously by the authorities. I always imagined that riding barehead would attract a massive fine, thousands of points, a ban, rehabilitation and probably compulsory extra training on a Sunday. Turns out, however, that it is merely subject to a fixed penalty notice of £30, like failing to wear a seatbelt. So at least I could afford to give it a go. All of this, inevitably, has led to a bet. Jeremy Clarkson reckons I wouldn't get more than 100 helmetless yards in Brown's Britain before I was run in by the rozzers. But I'm not so sure. Eventually we shook hands on a £100 wager that I can or can't ride from my house in Hammersmith to the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus, in the West End, lid free. That's a distance of 4.8 miles. The rules state that I must travel during the day and by the most exposed route, on the Triumph Speed Triple. Clarkson to pay my fine from his winnings if I'm apprehended. And in case you imagine that this is a mere dare rather than a serious avenue of enquiry, it is actually something of a test of policing priorities. If I'm busted for not having a bone-dome, that must mean they've caught the bloke who nicked my television four years ago. Hoorah! To be continued                                                                                                                                                                               

James May: I fought the law...   ...but the law wasn't really bothered about a bloke off the telly riding through central London, in daylight, without a helmet   Telegraph.co.uk By James May Published: 6:05PM BST 10 Oct 2008   The story so far... Your hero has accepted a stupid bet, namely that he can't ride a motorcycle from Hammersmith to Piccadilly Circus, sans crash helmet, without being run in by the law and fined £30. Not that he condones riding a motorcycle without a helmet, obviously. But should it actually be illegal? It's his head after all. There's £100 on it. The journey, for those of you unfamiliar with the layout of the capital, which includes me, would be as follows. I had agreed with my detractor, one Clarkson, that I would take the more circuitous 4.8-mile route through the busy bits of town rather than going up the A4, thus exposing myself to the greatest chance of apprehension. That meant turning right out of the end of my little road and making my way up the main street of Hammersmith; the very street whereon CCTV must have seen me pursuing, barefoot, the pillager of my television set four years ago. Not sure if I've ever mentioned this. Then it's around the short one-way system to the big Broadway roundabout, which is usually well-staffed with constables, and on past the Olympia exhibition centre. I would next arrive at the terminally congested and densely populated retail Mecca of Kensington High Street before making my way up past the Royal Albert Hall. At this point my mental map of London goes a bit grey and indistinct, but I know I pass another Albert Hall on the right at some point and then arrive at the underpass leading to Piccadilly. But I must eschew the underpass in favour of the overhead roundabout, which will reveal my blatant disregard of the law to yet more of the boys in blue who are out looking for my television. Finally, I ride up Piccadilly itself, past the shop that sells the posh hampers, and arrive victorious at the monument to the pest Eros, £100 up. So off I set, skid-lid hanging from my left elbow and with only a pair of sunglasses for head furniture. It felt quite good, the breeze tousling my hair and the exhaust note of the Trumpet making its way unhindered into my naked earholes. But what really amazed me is that absolutely no one took any notice – not even the several policemen I passed in cars and at the roadside. A biker coming the other way turned his head towards me in that way that makes his facial expression absolutely clear, even though he was wearing a full-face bucket with a tinted visor, but other than that – nothing. On I rode, gloriously free. Soon, though, the journey began to feel like one of those ridiculous dreams in which you've gone to work with no trousers on. I quite often ride around town without bothering with the full leather gear, reasoning that a dose of road rash is something I'll get over. I'm also told that all animals have evolved in such a way that they can survive an impact with a solid object at their maximum speed, even though all animals I can think of would hit a solid object head first. Unfortunately, my natural maximum speed is about 6mph. So there was something deeply disturbing about exposing my head, the place in which my awareness of self dwells, to obvious danger, and in a way that isn't true of arms and legs. Above about 20mph, riding with no helmet on seemed a bit like chambering a second lucky round for my turn in a game of Russian Roulette. Then, mercifully, a policeman in a van spotted me in Kensington. He simply pointed at me, pointed at my lid, performed an exaggerated tapping motion on the top of his own head and, I think, called me something slightly rude. I was a bit disappointed that he didn't get out and confront me, because I wanted to be able to say, "Good morning, Officer. I presume you have my television in the back of your van." Instead I just put my dome on and went home for lunch, relieved. I still don't think anyone should be made to wear a crash helmet, it's just that I find the case for liberty rather less compelling than the case for not stoving my head in. Not wearing a crash helmet is, in the end, slightly prattish, so in May's Britain, as explained last week, I would have to sit in a locked room for a day with The Archers. In the real Britain, things are actually worse. I have to give Jeremy Clarkson £100. That is a cruel and unusual punishment, so when I do come to power I think I will adopt it.                                                                                                                                                                              

Damm! I realy wanted James to Suceed.                                                                                                                                                                             

Shame he didn't.   Only ever ridden without a lid once. On a deserted coast road, at about 20 mph, did about 4 miles.   Felt very strange, having always known compulsory helmets, but great feeling on a hot summers day   p.s can't argue with the fewer laws the better tho.                                                                                                                                                                             

  Even if helmet wearing wasn't compulsory I'd still wear mine. Apart from the safety aspect I've suffered with ear problems all my life so I like to keep the cold out and I don't like my hair getting into knots.                                                                                                                                                                             

Rode a Fireblade a friend bought down a road in Liverpool last night without a helmet did't realize untill i read this. A couple of years ago i rode to the shops without a helmet on without realizing till i got there still rode home.                                                                                                                                                                             

Blistering hot summers day, shades, shorts, tee, GSXR750, twisty country roads, hairpins, hit 120 ish... no helmet.

But on a Greek Island.. still doesn't make it right but would not swap the memory.

Did ride to school once helmetless. Only about a mile.

i remember helmet  free days but  with age   i suppose i see the error of my ways  (  not got as many  brain cells to kill now) it does make sense but who had sense  then?                                                                                                                                                                             

I've only ever taken my lid off on a mag demo. I can imagine the mess made to my scalp if it were to scrape along the surface of a gritted road for 50 yards. I do however believe we  should have the right to chose to do so. Above about 30 Its also incedibly noisy. Have you seen wot happens to flags that have been flapping in the wind for a while?  just think of the mess it'll make of your ears.                                                                                                                                                                              

Like wearing  a seat belt in a car   it would feel  wrong  not  wearing a helmet..                                                                                                                                                                             

Don't like wearing seat belts and dont allways wear one                                                                                                                                                                             

oh i feel naked now  without  my seatbelt  on...feels  really weird                                                                                                                                                                             

Have visions of you naked Anneka, but realy wearing a seatbelt feels the same to meas it would to sit in a bath with your welly's on                                                                                                                                                                             

I rode my bike once, on a private road mind, without my lid on and I'll never, EVER consider riding without it on public roads.  At the end of the day, the law is the law and we must stick to it.  I dread to think what would've happened to Cassie when she had her 'off' earlier this year if she hadn't had her helmet to protect her. James May and all the Fred Hill mob should all give it a rest and accept that the law stands. Besides, gravel rash on your torso is something you can live with, losing a leg or an arm is also something you can live with, but you lose your head or get it damaged enough and you'll be worm food!                                                                                                                                                                             

I like my face, hense wear my lid at all times - I also plait my long hair otherwise it's only habitable by the wildlife population.....love woodland creatures, but. not that much.........                                                                                                                                                                             

I recently was blocked from getting into the bike park at work so left my bike in one of the disabled spots until the delivery guy had gone. When I went to move it, I didn't put my helmet on and for the 100yrd or so that I rode my bike round the carpark - I hated it!   In fact I hated being without everything, jacket, gloves and my lid - I felt so exposed and unprotected. I actually felt scared and nervous and it affected my confidence on the bike.                                                                                                                                                                               

It is correct we should have laws.  They are necessary to protect the innocent. It is also correct we should be allowed to be free to choose.  It is appropriate to challenge any law that infringes on that freedom and does not protect the innocent. There are too many laws that remove our rights as individuals to make choices.  I have admitted to riding at speed helmetless.  Normally I choose to wear one.  Them flies hurt. However I could never tell someone they should never do it.  Just as I would not want to be told to hold onto a banister rail whilst cllimbing the stairs.  Life is about choice.   Soon, as nobody is resiting it, we will be forced to wear flourescent clothing too.  It is in the highway code and this can be used to apportion blame in court after a collision.  This is true.  After an accident you would clearly believe was not your fault you will be asked what you were wearing and if your headlight was on.  The wrong answer will reduce any compensation you should receive as you will be held partly responsible.  The laws we have are increasing, and now we are seeing those that will penalise the victim and protect the perpetrator.   I am getting close to another forum entirely so,, helmets.. Yes,, but not a law.                                                                                                                                                                             

Fairly recently I rode a CBF500 a relatively short distance along a footpath running alongside the A64, in the wrong direction, without my helmet on!   Not sure what a copper would have done me for here, erm, unless of course he did me for the lot!   I felt though that I could have got away with a plead of simple stupidity!  After all, riding without your helmet on is one thing.  Riding along a footpath is another and riding the wrong way along the A64 is another again.   But surely to do all three you must simply be genuinely stupid?  One of the "not very bwite, but I can lift 'eavy fings" briggade.  I was sure that scratching my head and looking confused when a copper asks me my name would have got me off with nothing more than a warning and a Janet and John book.                                                                                                                                                                             

If i had the choice of wearing my lid or not i'd definately wear it we all know what it sounds like when a bee hits our helmet at 60mph imagine it hittin your fore head??? ouch . But if i want to feel the wind in my face i just lift the front of my caberg up best of both worlds
                                                                                                                                                                             

In fairness to James May :   "I always wear mine, and, with the exception of the odd trundle up and down the road outside my house to check that I really have cocked-up the carburettor settings on my Honda 90, I've never ridden a bike without one.....  .....I'm also curious to know how it feels to ride a bike with no lid on, just the once, so I can at least have an informed opinion on it."   I think this was more of a test as to wether or not he would be stopped, rather than a recommendation not to wear a lid.