Fines wiped if biker buys 'dorky' helmet

[crashe]

Yeah - that was your daughter.

I'm quite skillful, expert and pretty ferkin' smart.
Quite capable of making my decisions about risk without being nanna'd into wearing a stupid hat to save me from something I've been successfully doing for 46 years.

yeah - but what I was getting at, was that my daughter was wearing it correctly and securely...... hence it saved her brains and life.


Look at how many don't have any idea on how they should be worn...
I see them hanging off the back of the head, or tilted to the side...... and some hanging over their eyes.
Some have even worn them back to front as they are unsure which way it fits on their head....lol.
If you come off a pushbike wearing them like that, it won't do jackshit for their head or brains.

I must admit that some of the new type of helmets do look rather strange and spaceage... and the straps holding it in place, don't look as thou they have been placed in the correct place on the helmet.

[Big Dave]

yeah - but what I was getting at, was that my daughter was wearing it correctly and securely...... hence it saved her brains and life.

OK sure - If I'm on cycling on greenlane I'll have all the help I can get too.
Getting a lecture as I was dawdling to the park at walking pace....I don't need to be protected from myself.

[oldrider]

Wearing a helmet pootling around on a push bike completely shits me too.

This a "me too" comment!

Should be individual choice, same for motorbikes too!

Yes, yes, I would still choose to wear a helmet on my motorbike most of the time!

There are times when the risk is low and it's not warranted to be compulsory.

As far as the stupid law goes, that judge just made a mockery out of it. John.

[bell]

Like seatbelts in a cage
Guy wouldnt have drowned in the car upside down in the ditch if he didnt wear one ....would he

Do I detect a hint of Darwinian thinking in this statement?

May I suggest you visit an organisation that works with people with Brain Injuries sometime before you leave the earth - offer to do some volunteer work with them.

You might just change your opinions about not needing to wear helmets. And you'll be doing something useful for a few people who need it.

[homer]

Do I detect a hint of Darwinian thinking in this statement?

May I suggest you visit an organisation that works with people with Brain Injuries sometime before you leave the earth - offer to do some volunteer work with them.

You might just change your opinions about not needing to wear helmets. And you'll be doing something useful for a few people who need it.

yes i guess you are quite correct ....
im just making the point of its up to you ...
its makes sence on a motorcycle to me as you have a lot more weight and speed but a pushy no .
I crashed my 250 trail years ago at 80 90 km in to a car i didnt have my helmet done up ,so it came off i got 9 stiches in the back of my head .
Hey im fine, the roads hard but i still dont see any sence of one on a pushy ......horse either for that matter......mobility scooter?


Oh and quads yes maybe if you racing them ,on the farm use them all the time ,yes theres a course you can do for safe quad riding .......Still not a million years .

[The Tazman]

cant say id blame him ....id never wear one on a pushy either, not that id be riding one but i used to .
yes they look stupid and no i dont believe they save you much either.dont care what any one says .

I thought the same but put one on anyway because of being a motorcyclist!!! If I hadn't the day I came off and my head went into a fence and slid along it I'm not so sure I'd be all there now. These laws sound silly sometimes but not as silly as te people that don't have the common sense in the first place, causing these laws to be put in place. We could always go to natural selection and let these muppets just get deselected from life!!!!

Like seatbelts in a cage
Guy wouldnt have drowned in the car upside down in the ditch if he didnt wear one ....would he

That's like saying 'I know someone that smoked all their life and were fine' forgetting about the millions it kills!!!!!!!!!!

Yes there is always exceptions to the rule but what they try to do is minimize the risk they'll never stop it all together

[Max Preload]

Wasn't there some study or something that somebody posted on KB that push-bike helmets do diddly shit -- or even worse? Can't remember. Too early in the day to think yet.

It's more dangerous to wear a safety helmet on a bicycle than to not wear one - not for the injuries but the fact you're more likely to get clipped in the first place. The only reason they were made compulsory is because some neurotic bitch lost a kid to a kerb - it was an accident - they happen - get over it. But instead she goes on a fucking crusade to further endanger all other bicyclists.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...et/5334208.stm

[oldrider]

It's more dangerous to wear a safety helmet on a bicycle than to not wear one - not for the injuries but the fact you're more likely to get clipped in the first place. The only reason they were made compulsory is because some neurotic bitch lost a kid to a kerb - it was an accident - they happen - get over it. But instead she goes on a fucking crusade to further endanger all other bicyclists.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...et/5334208.stm

He is quite right! (IMHO) Sounds a bit rough, put like that but it is true! John.

[Usarka]

good on the judge, the dude wasnt hurting anyone else. the law is supposedly in place to stop him getting injured so the best course of action in the eyes of the lawmakers is one that ends up with him owning and using a helmet.

now if theyd stop letting burglars, assaulters and other fucktards off so lightly the country might be in a better state.

arse.

[bell]

its makes sence on a motorcycle to me as you have a lot more weight and speed but a pushy no .
I crashed my 250 trail years ago at 80 90 km in to a car i didnt have my helmet done up ,so it came off i got 9 stiches in the back of my head .
Hey im fine, the roads hard but i still dont see any sence of one on a pushy ......horse either for that matter......mobility scooter?

You'll effectively gain weight and speed when the car that hits you throws you 25 metres down the road into a post/kerb/tree/building[add preferred solid object in here].

If you're unfortunate enough to hit said post/kerb/tree/building with your head, you'll probably be glad you had your helmet on (and fitted properly). Otherwise you may end up drinking your beer through a straw.
http://www.head-injury.org.nz/headInjury.html

It's more dangerous to wear a safety helmet on a bicycle than to not wear one - not for the injuries but the fact you're more likely to get clipped in the first place. The only reason they were made compulsory is because some neurotic bitch lost a kid to a kerb - it was an accident - they happen - get over it. But instead she goes on a fucking crusade to further endanger all other bicyclists.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...et/5334208.stm

Perhaps the most useful information that the article could impart would be the last two paragraphs:

However, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents insisted: "We wouldn't recommend that people stop wearing helmets because of this research. Helmets have been shown to reduce the likelihood of head and brain injuries in a crash.

"[The research] highlights a gain in vulnerability of cyclists on our roads and drivers of all types need to take more care when around them."

[Max Preload]

Perhaps the most useful information that the article could impart would be the last two paragraphs:

However, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents insisted: "We wouldn't recommend that people stop wearing helmets because of this research. Helmets have been shown to reduce the likelihood of head and brain injuries in a crash.

"[The research] highlights a gain in vulnerability of cyclists on our roads and drivers of all types need to take more care when around them."

I say they need to be more aware of vehicles - there's little that can be done to preserve the kamikaze spandex fucks I see on a regular basis riding two abreast in the middle of the narrow road between Clevedon and Kawakawa Bay. Much like with muslims, if they have so little respect for their own lives, why should we be expected to have anything but a passing casual interest in their lives?

[Hitcher]

Helmet laws for treadly riders are a joke. While the law requires that push bike riders must "wear" a helmet, there is nothing in that law that says it:

1. Has to fit
2. Has to be fastened
3. Has to be worn properly (i.e. not worn over other headgear or perched jauntily in proximity to one's cranium)
4. Etc

Most pushbike riders who may happen to fall from their velocipedes will benefit not a jot from having a plastic colander atop their noggin. This is a law either dreamed up by Tupperware Corporation or the "worried well" -- the same people who don't know how to reverse a SUV and who think they can taste the difference between organic and inorganic food. Puh-lease.

This law is an ass.

[oldrider]

If the reasoning for helmet laws were absolutely correct, why haven't they done the same for gloves, boots, riding suits etc?

Hands without gloves are just as (or more) at risk as any other part of your body!

Shhh don't mention it out loud or there will be a new laws for that too.

Personal safety, personal responsibility, personal choice, personal accountability!

Just stop telling me when and how to wipe my own arse! John.

[bell]

I say they need to be more aware of vehicles - there's little that can be done to preserve the kamikaze spandex fucks I see on a regular basis riding two abreast in the middle of the narrow road between Clevedon and Kawakawa Bay. Much like with muslims, if they have so little respect for their own lives, why should we be expected to have anything but a passing casual interest in their lives?

Not wanting to generalise or anything....perhaps there's a distinction to be made between the cyclists that do the right thing and ride as safely as the road allows and those that don't?

I'm in the former group and would really like to stay out of intensive care units and wheelchairs in the years ahead. It does seem that there are a considerable number of car/truck/bus drivers that simply do not appreciate that a bicycle rider is extremely vulnerable. One way they demonstrate this is by passing too closely.

It's simple. The motorist should try and give the cyclist as much space as the road allows when they pass the bike. The road code IIRC makes reference to a 1.5 metre passing clearance when overtaking cyclists.

Now, that's all well and good. There is, however, the slight problem of policing this rule. A bit like tailgating. It's only likely that the Police will charge you with following too closely if that factor has contributed to an accident. In the same way, if a vehicle passes a cyclist too closely they are only likely to be done for it if they cause an accident - and that would mean a high chance of a serious injury for the cyclist.

Attitudes to cyclists appear to be a major issue in this regard. If you don't think that cyclists matter then you'll drive accordingly.

If you are a cyclist or perhaps have a son, daughter, mother, aunt, cousin, wife, or favourite politican who rides a bicycle, then maybe you'll take the extra caution that's needed and give cyclists the space they need to be safe next time you pass them on the road.

[Bullitt]

It's more dangerous to wear a safety helmet on a bicycle than to not wear one - not for the injuries but the fact you're more likely to get clipped in the first place. The only reason they were made compulsory is because some neurotic bitch lost a kid to a kerb - it was an accident - they happen - get over it. But instead she goes on a fucking crusade to further endanger all other bicyclists.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...et/5334208.stm

Unless its covered in the study and omitted from the article I have a problem with his methodology ... What stops him riding further from the kerb when hes wearing a helmet, suddenly he will be riding closer to traffic and can achieve any result he wants.

Ive always worn a helmet on a bike well before I was legally forced to, back then helmets were alot more expensive and ugly than they are now too. So I dont think anything of putting on a helmet on the odd occassion I still go on one.

I remember some discussion a few years ago about kids wearing baseball caps under helmets complete with the button on the top (not sure if they still have these) which focused the entire impact onto one small point at the top of the head...about the only time I can think a helmet might make a crash worse.