Now in NSW cyclist get a $320 if they dont wear a helmet. My fiance got stung on the first day (before 9am) by some gung ho cop.

Good work police force, Im sure the $320 is a justifiable cost for the crime committed.

Im sure this will encourage less cyclists for transport.


news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/5334208.stm

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-cycling-laws-fines-will-affect-suburban-amenity-advocates-warn-20160214-gmtpyb.html

I've started wearing a helmet, but I removed the straps... is that gona attract a fine?

^^^maybe it's more about reducing the trauma associated with unintended head injuries that is common within cyclists. Treat someone with a head injury, and you'd want uniform helmet laws.

JulianRoss said..
^^^maybe it's more about reducing the trauma associated with unintended head injuries that is common within cyclists. Treat someone with a head injury, and you'd want uniform helmet laws.

Why don't they mandate helmets for all sports?
I'm not very fast on my bike, on a flat I'll do ~20kmh, uphill ~10kmh.

The following comment will make some people fill uncomfortable, but here goes.

In the 80's, I saw a very short documentary that changed my attitude to helmets. It was one of those emergency medical shows on TV (which were popular in the 80's and the TV station - I think it was ABC - would time these shows when people were sitting down to have dinner). The patient (a teenager) had a snowboarding accident and sustained a severe head injury. He wasn't wearing a helmet. He was on the operating table and doctors were trying to save him. They opened up part of his head to relieve the pressure as his brain was swelling. His brain was coming out like a squeezed tube of tooth paste. It was the front part of his head, so what was coming out was his memories and personality. They were scraping it off his head as it was coming out with swabs. The doctor operating was commentating this and saying they may not be able to save him. "Too much is coming out".."now he will probably be a vegetable", "That's it, he is gone."

I thought it was a tragic loss and deeply touched me. From that point on, I treated helmet protection very seriously and realised how fragile our heads are.

......head isn't a direct consequence oops edit...

FlySurfer said..

JulianRoss said..
^^^maybe it's more about reducing the trauma associated with unintended head injuries that is common within cyclists. Treat someone with a head injury, and you'd want uniform helmet laws.

Why don't they mandate helmets for all sports?
I'm not very fast on my bike, on a flat I'll do ~20kmh, uphill ~10kmh.

Do u realise that if the human head falls from it's natural height - say 175cm for you (?) and hits hard surface - it is all over?
Falling off your bike stationary could technically kill you.
It doesn't happen much as your torso hits first and you put your arms out etc. But and unforseen hit from a funny direction will do it.

People said all the same things about other laws at the time also, seatbelts were dumb and unnecessary apparently.

About three months ago I rode my bike from Ocean Reef down to Scarborough. On the way down I noticed a couple of cops pull into the layby at Northbeach .

I was having a drink at the water fountain at the Scarbs amphitheater, when this dude pitches up , no helmet , tattoos above the shoulder line , " Hey bro, wanna buy a bike bro , fifty bucks bro , I'm over riding riding bro ".
In his next sentence he said "It's a steal bro " I replied , yeah , I was just thinking that. He took off pretty quick on this high end green Merida mountain bike. By the time I reached the north end of the Scarborough beach where the exercise equipment and toilet block is , he was trying to off load it on to someone else.

I pulled over to tell the cops at the Northbeach layby , who by now were doing RBT work with the female partner inside probably doing verification work on a laptopw while the male half was pulling over the cars and doing the breath tests.

While she did comment "probably stolen" neither of them asked for a description of the bike or the dirtbag trying to off loaf it.That IMHO, is why we have a soaring crime rate here in the west. Nabbing motorists , is way more important than catching real crooks .

I'm all for the new fines for the helmets though, next time he steals a bike , he might just get a big fine

Julian does wearing a cycle helmet actually save lives?
There appears to many articles that say they do and just as many saying they do not.

I am of the thoughts that it is up to the person to decide.

Why are helmets in cars not compulsor, more people drive and at higher speeds but we don't have them. Imagin the lives saved if we did have them but it will never happen as people will kick up a stink and more importantly car manufacturers would fight as it would say cars are unsafe. I agree with wearing a bike helmet and I always do but the designs are suitable for a very specific head impact and at low speeds. Large parts of your head are still exposed to impact unlike motorcycle helmets.

Lets separate bike accidents that happen on the road from those on bike paths. Seams useful to wear a helmet when mixing with traffic, while its lame to have mandatory helmet laws for riding on paths. If you are that concerned about your head, feel free to wear a helmet 24/7, just don't impose your concerns on everyone else.

bjw said...
Now in NSW cyclist get a $320 if they dont wear a helmet. My fiance got stung on the first day (before 9am) by some gung ho cop.

Good work police force, Im sure the $320 is a justifiable cost for the crime committed.

Im sure this will encourage less cyclists for transport.


news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/5334208.stm

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-cycling-laws-fines-will-affect-suburban-amenity-advocates-warn-20160214-gmtpyb.html

Will she now wear a helmet? Id guess at 320$ a pop she may just now be wanting to wear one!

Also not sure if you have ever seen the after effects of a car hitting a cyclist or even when a cyclist is thrown over the bonnet of a car and bounces on the road, but if you did and also loved your partner you would have ensured she wears a helmet regardless.

FlySurfer said...

KEAW YED said..
They appear to have a 'hard on' for cyclists and car drives

I presumes this is because they are easy targets, do not take much policing, generates revenue and does not take up much of their time with follow up paperwork etc..

Australia is like Saudi Arabia for Drivers and Riders.
I heard on the radio a couple weeks back this guy was found guilty of mistreating animals, and had 120 dead grey hounds... he got a $500 fine.
I was caught speeding on the Warringah FREEWAY 112kmh, got $855 fine + it looks like I'll lose my license bcos I was over 30kmh.

32 km over!!! I take it you were doing 112km in and 80 zone so you deserve what you get ya clown. Hopefully taking the bus may give you time to reflect or your error.

I don't understand the logic of people who wear helmets but leave the strap undone...
I mean it you are in an accident the first thing that will happen is the helmet will come off (and hence offer no protection).
Am I missing something here?

Perhaps it is some sort of secret code amongst gay cyclists?

RPM said..
32 km over!!! I take it you were doing 112km in and 80 zone so you deserve what you get ya clown. Hopefully taking the bus may give you time to reflect or your error.

It's a 10 lane FREEWAY... you old granny.
10 years ago it used to be 100kmh speed limit, they made it variable and then kept it at 80kmh.

I was overtaking a truck, slow overtaking is dangerous... defensive driving 101. My average speed was probably ~85kmh.
Any developed country would have 120kmh speed limit on a similar road.

I don't even think I was doing 112kmh... it sure didn't feel fast, I was in no hurry, I was riding to the conditions > a removals truck pulled in to the right-most lane in front of me, so I undertook and then moved back in to the right lane > next thing I know cops flash his lights at me.
How fast was he going? He was on Military Road and had to get on the Warringah Freeway, then catch up to me.

RPM said..

bjw said...
Now in NSW cyclist get a $320 if they dont wear a helmet. My fiance got stung on the first day (before 9am) by some gung ho cop.

Good work police force, Im sure the $320 is a justifiable cost for the crime committed.

Im sure this will encourage less cyclists for transport.


news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/5334208.stm

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-cycling-laws-fines-will-affect-suburban-amenity-advocates-warn-20160214-gmtpyb.html

Will she now wear a helmet? Id guess at 320$ a pop she may just now be wanting to wear one!

Also not sure if you have ever seen the after effects of a car hitting a cyclist or even when a cyclist is thrown over the bonnet of a car and bounces on the road, but if you did and also loved your partner you would have ensured she wears a helmet regardless.

RPM is sooo pro helmets.

He's actually the poster-boy for helmet-head kiting.

And when he mounts the camera on top ...it's such a good look.

lol.