[Pil-pc-oceania] Bike Moves

[Kerry Dawborn]

While I might agree that helmets can save your head in an accident, I 
still don't think they should be mandated by law, as they are here in 
victoria. I think it should be a personal choice for adults at least. I 
think helnet laws are probably a major deterrent for many who might 
otherwise use bikes for ordinary, slow, non-sporty commuter travel. The 
way one rides and to some degree the level of saftey, is very much 
affected by the style and type of bike - I am less concerned about my 
saftey riding an old ladíe's bike or my folder slowly and sedately as I 
do for some purposes, than when i speed around on my mountain bike. I 
can also dress differently (wear ordinary clothes including dresses), on 
the ladie's bike and the folder, whereas I wear more practical clothing 
for cycling when riding the mountain bike. This means that for some of 
my travel needs (ie, if I need to 'dress well'), I find it practical to 
ride, except for the fact of having to wear a helmet.  I would be very 
surprised if so many people in places like amsterdam and copenhagen (I 
recently heard that 30% of all trips in copenhagen are made by bike) 
would ride if bike helmets were required by law. I just can't see some 
of the women bedecked in evening dresses and high heels ready for a 
night at the theatre who I have seen on bikes in amsterdam, would cycle 
if they had to wear a helmet.

I also believe that the more we encourage bike use for diverse purposes 
by a broader range of the community (business, shopping, general 
commuting etc as against sportand recreation), the more we will see 
different bike styles and designs in australia, including in particular 
more that are built for just getting around in a practical and safe 
manner (solid, upright, built for carrying things and whatnot), rather 
than as fast as possible, the safer roads and cycling in general, will  
become. If we combine choice about wearing helmets, with appropriate 
traffic measures to support and enourage cycling, perhaps we can 
increase the proportion of cyclists and make our roads safer....

cheers all, and thanks for the great discussion!

Kerry

Daniel Rossi wrote:
> On 31/03/2008, at 11:12 AM, mossmans wrote:
>
>   
>> Can I remind people please, that a head injury is caused by falling  
>> off
>> bikes, not just being hit by a car, and that the main reason for the  
>> helmet
>> is to prevent those.  Head injury is not fun to recover from if  
>> indeed you
>> ever do,
>>     
>
> Good point there. I fell off my bike clipped in once on uneven  
> footpath and the tyre slipped on the side of it, and another time the  
> tyre slipped on a rock in the centre of a bend on a bush track and I  
> had to roll and hit my head on the ground, that was a much faster  
> speed. So helmets do save your head !
>
>   
>> A helmet can be used for permaculture advertising, have flowers on it,
>> perhaps we can promote a happy helmet day.
>>
>>     
>
> Hmm helmet decorating on the day, retrofit them into something funky ?  
> I do see alot of people without them on the road while I am in my  
> 'cage' on the road. Maybe they feel insecure wearing one ?
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