Soz if this has been posted before but I don’t get on here that much.
Scrap bike helmets - Associate Professor Chris Rissel from Sydney University | Herald Sun
Finally somebody sees the light in this nanny state we live in.
Rates of organ donation are declining - maybe this bloke has a solution?
Maybe you need to re-read it again. Australia is nearly the ONLY country in the world where helmet use is mandatory but our head injury rate from bicycles is equal or more per capita than anywhere else.
Come back from riding in Europe etc and tell me the law here is right.
I’m not saying to NOT wear a helmet, I just want the choice. Racing and training etc I will ALWAYS wear one.
It’s an interesting theory, but I’ll definitely still wear mine.
There would be countless stories of accidents involving cars or high speed where helmets have saved riders from much more serious injuries or even death. Even this incident from Saturday night although not very likely, is a good reason to have one on
It’s not that much of a hassle to chuck a lid on even if you are in the park or going to the shops. And I doubt that many people choose not to ride a bike because of having to wear a helmet.
I read it. I think the last paragraph, the quote from the BNSW guy, holds the important message in that story.
Sorry, Herald Sun… really?
Sorry, Herald Sun… really?
man, when they had gary ablett snr. write a column about how science was bullshit and jebus was the answer to everything.
hahaha, that was the best.
but seriously, the wobblers that are too cool to wear a helmet are the people that need them most.
<rant>
What I always find funny is how people bang on about Amsterdam and Copenhagen and say how everyone rides bikes over there and they don’t have to wear helmets and it’s safe, etc. I felt safe riding in Copenhagen helmetless because there’s about 1 car to every 15 cyclists. During peak hour you have to watch out for the masses of (polite) cyclists rather than cars. It’s just how those cities work.
Australia doesn’t a) have the infrastructure to support cycling like those cities, it has never been built around cycling, and when the do try and change things for the better of cycling, people crack the shits because the might lose some parking spaces or something similar and b) we’re a car driven (no pun intended) country where bikes and cyclists are obstacle on the road. We will never be a country where a bike is considered a great way to get around to work or wherever by the mass population.
In my opinion, and you can take this however, I will never feel safe without a helmet on the roads of Australia (and I’m on giving this from an Adelaide point of view, I’ve only ridden in Melbourne briefly) because it’s just not safe riding a bike out there. and I highly doubt it will be in the near future.
<end rant />
Studies show that the more cyclists there are on the road, the fewer accidents there are (for whatever reason). It’s also been argued that the helmet laws have stunted the growth of cycling in Australia because they give the perception that cycling is a dangerous activity.
So, paradoxically, removing helmet laws would actually make ALL cyclists safer.
Me, I would still wear my helmet most of the time. It’d just be nice to know that I could duck to the corner shop for some milk without being hassled by cops if I chose not to wear it.
I just wish i didn’t have to worry about a helmet when i went out partying… my girl is exactly the same.
You must go to some wild parties if you need a helmet…
Well… actually…
No, I typed that too quick.
What i meant was I hate having to wear a helmet when we go out on the weekends on our bikes to pubs etc, because I never feel safe leaving it locked to my bike.
i don’t leave my helmet locked to my bike. at $200 i’m not willing to leave it out in the open for some drunken fuckwit to mess with.
i’ve heard a few stories of people having their motorbike helmets pissed in when locked up in perth…
Get a cheap skate helmet and just lock it with your bike. Always lock my skate lid with my bike when ever I go out and daily at uni. Only ever had one bad experience having it locked to my bike, but compared to the bike, it was nothing.
after getting stomped on buy a “drunken idiot” on the weekend, I have my helmet to thank for not being in hospital. It cracked in 7 spots but i was just left with a headache. I don’t agree with mandatory rules but helmets are kinda handy.
we should not be legislating against natural selection
over the age of 18 it should be up to the individual to decide if they want to wear a helmet imo
i would continue to wear a helmet
When I got hit a few years back I had no helmet on, I fractured my skull and have lost my sense of smell. I came out of the concussion and had my neurosurgeon at a loss for words because if I had been wearing a helmet I would have broken my neck due to the position of impact. To this day, I always strap one on, but I don’t think it should be compulsory and do agree with the statement that because we have mandatory helmet laws cycling is being portrayed as a dangerous activity.
I got hit a few year ago… the car was going super slow and just turned into the bike lane to park… Landed on my head. Grazed the whole side of my face and cracked the helmet right up the side. It was lucky I had one on…
Another time when I came off, I broke my elbow - didn’t really feel that when it happened, all I remember was hearing my helmet bouncing along the ground a bunch of times while I was tumbling about. again was lucky I was wearing it…
Even when given the choice (when I was O/S), I’d still always wear one.
If a guy skates past you on a back street at 50k/h, with no helmet on he is in the clear, but a cyclist doing the same is breaking the law and putting them and everyone else around them at risk?
This is how mandatory helmet laws have warped opinions about cycling safety.
Why do people always feel the need to butt in with these completely irrelevant claims about how helmets can save lives? No shit, of course helmets can save lives. In case you misread it, the Professor was arguing that helmet use shouldn’t be mandated, not that it should be banned!
I would NEVER cycle without a helmet, but I still oppose mandatory helmet laws because I recognise that:
A) Adults should be able to decide for themselves what an acceptable level of personal safety is when the effect of their decision on society is questionable at best.
B) Different types of cycling carry different levels of risk. I ride in the city, and merge across lanes of traffic on 70kph roads, so I wear a helmet. A person riding a recumbent trike on a separated bike path is significantly less likely than me to need a helmet.