Helmet Laws Stifle City Riders
Now i know it is smart to wear a helmet riding down Portrush Rd in heavy traffic, or tearing down from Mt Lofty on a race bike, but if i want to ride down to the local deli on my old school pushy or roll up and down Rundle St letting latte sipping hipsters admire my flowing locks, then i believe it should be ok to go sans helm. After riding all over Europe last summer i grew accustomed to riding with no helmet, and i never felt my life was in grave danger. If the roads of London became too scary i just got off and walked my bike till things calmed down or i could find another (quieter) route. I think minors should be made to wear helmets, but as a adult member of a free society i am quite capable of deciding when and when not to take my helmet on a ride. This topic has probably surfaced quite a bit on these forums but it needs to be discussed again as a progression for change.
Tags: choice, freedom, helmet, helmets, laws, progression
Replies are closed for this discussion.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ruddager on
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Ooh - I just had an idea. Get this:
Helmetless speed limit and road limitations.
You can go without a helmet if you want, but you'll have to stay away from any main road (let's say, roads with a speed limit of 60 or above why not).
Also, if you are travelling more than, say, 25km/h without a helmet, you are breaking the law and liable to cop a fine if caught.
Yesno?
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Permalink Reply by Don (Who's lost?) Nairn on -
laws have to be practical to enforce.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Young on -
Not necessarily. We have laws saying 'don't go through a red traffic light' and 'stop at a stop sign' and realistically, people could break these laws 95% of the time, without fear of being caught (obviously except in cases with cameras) .
But most of the time, people stop at traffic lights (even at night, with no cars crossing) even though they'd lose nothing by crossing.
Perhaps it's overly optimistic of me, but I imagine a law like this could work in a similar way, and be largely successful. -
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Permalink Reply by Will Matthews on -
really appreciate your input Ruddager. Helmetless speed limit and road limitations does make sense to me.
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Permalink Reply by stephen on -
Ruddager
If you read this you will find that it is legal to ride without helmet when not on the road in at least one part of Australia without a helmet if you are 17+.
http://www.adelaidecyclists.com/group/helmetlessriders/forum/topics...
As for travelling at higher speeds yes risk increases but more experienced riders are quite capable of making up their own mind's if they need a helmet without wasting Mr Plod's time with speed checks on them every time - and few bikes actually have a speedo anyway.
If you want to make riding safer - remove helmet laws completely - let people choose for themselves.
There are typically dozens of minor accidents for every moderate one and dozens of moderate accidents for every serious or fatal one - let people learn they will have plenty of opportunities to experience near misses or loose a bit of skin and learn from mistakes some will perhaps decide to wear a reflective vest , have safety lights, find a safer route , wear long pants, add on a rear view mirror or take lessons, wear a bike helmet , gloves , shin guards, knee pads or whatever if they feel so inclined let them but don't force them to do any it's pointless, Emphasising the most intrusive and least effective safety measure with a law really is quite counter-productive.
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The increased safety in numbers effects from removing the helmet laws would be vastly more effective than this counter-productive nanny state law ever was.
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Permalink Reply by Will Matthews on
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Thanks for posting the link mate. I had a read of the article and it sounds like the NT government are definitely moving in the right direction! Great points raised in you argument for less restrictive helmet laws also.
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Permalink Reply by Tim on -
Oh my, cycling without a helmet you say? Hope some sanctimonious do gooder set her straight. Sounds like a scofflaw to me.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Murray on -
I grew up in the UK and cycled all my life without a helmet and so did all my friends. And guess what, we were all OK.
I'm pleased for you. I've cycled for 30 years wearing a helmet and never had an accident involving my head hitting anything so the helmet has been a complete waste. But like the stories about good old uncle Fred who died aged 95 after smoking two packs a day all his life this kind of evidence doesn't tell us much about the effectiveness of mandatory helmet laws in preventing injury. Not least because the people who fell off and died of a head injury are not telling us about it. Neither are the ones who didn't die but have a lot of trouble typing.
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Permalink Reply by Adam Williss on -
OK - I'll bite...
I never wore a helmet on my bike before MHLs and fell off plenty of times - and hit my head plenty of times - and I'm still here... And I still don't advocate for MHLs... Yet I would wear a helmet for most of the riding I do.
Is that what you are looking for with your last sentence?
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Permalink Reply by Michael Bland on -
And your typing skills are reasonable too Adam . The only faults I can spot are excessive full stops ..
8~)" -
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Permalink Reply by Adam Williss on
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Cheeky sod!!! Hahaha!
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Permalink Reply by Michael Bland on
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Will , you should come along to the next World Naked Bike Ride . We rolled down Rundle St with it all hanging out for the hipsters to enjoy .Everyone had a cycling hemet on , and I still felt free .
After about 40 mins of riding around the city the police made us put jocks on & the women put tops on , no fines were issued .
It was a great ride ,,I recommend it to all ,,I'll post it on AC leading up to next years ride .. -
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