> I would like to see more emphasis on other things like bicycle maintenance, equipment like lights and a mirror and education on how one should ride their bike on MUPs and in traffic, but it seems that the debate on helmets has overshadowed the other things that can have a greater impact on the safety of the rider.

Don't know how well its enforced in the rest of the UK, but when I lived in Cambridge wearing a helmet was your own choice. Riding with insufficient lights can and will get you pulled over and fined.