Cyclists Want Compulsory Helmet Law Removed

[TVR-190]

Brisbane film-maker Geoff McLeod has applied to have a $40,000 advertisement broadcast on television to change laws requiring all cyclists to wear helmets when riding.

He said the laws were responsible for halting “utility bike rides” and had contributed to the rising obesity rate.
“Australia is only one of two per cent of nations that have this absolutely ridiculous law,” Mr McLeod said.
“It’s the equivalent of telling people who drive cars that they have to gear up like Craig Lowndes, or telling beachgoers they have to wear life jackets or surfers to wear headgear.”
Cyclists over the age of 18 should have a right to choose whether to wear a helmet, he said.
“Police time could be much better spent than patrolling parks giving cyclists tickets for not wearing helmets,” Mr McLeod said.
He claimed there was no evidence the laws had saved the lives of cyclists but Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads said the number of cyclists killed since helmets were made compulsory, had almost halved since 1991.
“A recent Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland report found that bicycle helmet wearing reduces the likelihood of brain injury by 69 per cent and the likelihood of severe brain injury by 74 per cent,” said a TMR spokeswoman.
“A black and white shot of cyclists in Europe is a lot prettier than the reality of a bicycle accident without a helmet,” she said, in reference to Mr McLeod’s ad filmed in Italy.
Although the number of journeys to work in south-east Queensland fell after the helmet laws were introduced, they now exceeded pre-legislation trip numbers.
“Therefore there is little evidence to support that many people would take up riding if the legislation was changed,” said the spokeswoman.
In 2010, 6522 bicycle helmet infringement notices were issued in Queensland, down from 7500 in 2009.
In the first six months of this year, 3153 cyclists have been fined for not strapping on a helmet.
The offence carries a $100 fine for adults. Children aged ten to 16 are only fined on their third offence, following a caution and a warning.
Mr McLeod said his 60-second advertisement was getting a lot of support on youtube and Facebook.
“People don’t like wearing helmets. They’re hot and uncomfortable. A lot more people would jump on a bike and go for a ride if they didn’t have to and this is what this is about. Increasing the number of people cycling rather than getting into their car.”


Read more: Bid to axe cycle helmet law riles state | News.com.au

I say go for it, Darwin will take care of a few and there will be less cyclists on the roads.

[some_guy]

Anyone who had fallen off a bike before would agree when I call this bloke a muppet.

The sentence about people finding helmets hot and uncomfortable, therefore not wanting to ride, in my eyes warrants the sentence. Harden the f*** up.

If you reakly did wasn't to ride as a type of exercise, having to wear a helmet should not be holding you back.

[Bill44]

Around the time when they were talking about bringing in compulsory helmets, the then President, not sure of the exact organisation, of the Professional Bike riders was dead set against the idea.

He was man enough to admit in their national newsletter that after seeing a close friend get a fractured skull from coming off at 15 Kph, yes fifteen Kph, that he was all for compulsory helmets.

[Crisis63]

You will always get those “freedom of choice” idiots. Mostly though their choices are usually stupid.
Much like their comments looking at this..
“It’s the equivalent of telling people who drive cars that they have to gear up like Craig Lowndes,"
Or put on a seat belt?

Problem is if you don’t train kids to wear them then even the smarter ones may not later.
I will never forget the sight of a young guy riding a bike into the side of a fairly slow moving car, flicking up over the roof and landing flat on the road behind it. His head hit at the same time as the rest of him. He bounced a bit and never got up. I was required to submit statements as a witness for a couple of years post this accident obviously for insurance purpose. I believe he never recovered and spent his life (if he still has one) as a vegetable.
I don’t wear my helmet because it is law or it looks particularly good. I wear because of what I saw.

[monkeys437]

I brought a bike a month ago and I'm yet to get a helmet. I decided Ill buy one if I start to do some more risky off road riding or If I get a fine. I've only ridden it on main roads a couple of times and I mainly use it at night when there is hardly any traffic around.
I think it should be optional to wear a helmet for sure. We're getting far to safety conscious in this society nowdays and I think we need to harden up. There are risks associated with any recreational activity that doesn't mean you wrap yourself in cotton wool everytime you go outside

[Troy711]

I don't wear a helmet, I'm too cool for it.

[Julie]

meh they say getting rid of them will make more people ride like its a good thing... they are nothing but nuisances.

[strgas]

Maybe insurance companies could add a clause to their policy's no helmet no cover no payout ?

[vyseriesII]

I know id rather wear a helmet and look like a doofus then be a doofus cause i got brain damage after coming off a bike and hitting my head. Especially if the helmet would of prevented the brain damage. It's more a common sence thing and since people rarely display common sence (much like this geoff guy) I can see why he has said it.

Besides, I think fat people have a lot more to think about then looking dicky on a pushbike with a helmet on.

[fuzzy2308]

if they don't wear a helmet and i hit one in my car and they fall off and hit their head and die does that mean i wont get in trouble for killing them because they chose not to wear a helmet for their own safety?

and on a totaly unrelated story
i lost my license for not wearing a stack hat on my treadly a few years back, beat that....

[MasterOfReality]

I know id rather wear a helmet and look like a doofus

Helmets today don't look gawky.

If they still looked like the old Rosebank Stackhat, then people would have a right to complain!

[Big_Simmo]

I always wore my helmet on my deadly treadly back in the day, saw too many muppets stack it and I saw 1 guy actually get killed while on his ride home from primary school, he did a jump, landed wrong in some sand, went over the bars and face/head first into a tree...never rode a pushy after that.

He wasnt even going fast

[304runner]

The next obese person I see, Im going to walk up to them and say "So, ya don't like wearing a stack hat eyyy? tsk tsk tsk "

[m1lky]

Cyclists really piss me off. They don't pay rego so they should be on the road and if they are they should obey the damn road rules but that's another argument

Like nz you have a public health and a social welfare system. When these idiots injure themselves and become vegetables, you pay for their medical treatment and to live for the rest of their lives.

[Biznatch303]

Meh, let them do what they please. It's your choice in the end wether or not you wear a helmet, same as getting into a car and not putting on a seatbelt. If you don't use the safety features available then tough shit if you end up as a vegetable.
Helmets these days are what? $30-40? I'd rather shell out for that than never walk again or worse.

[Drawnnite]

helmets should be compulsory when on a bike.
however for the bikeshare scheme only you should be allowed to sign a waiver on not wearing a helmet. and if anything happens it is your own fault.
(this would be to get the scheme up and running properly and make it more popular)
any other bike you own or ride you would be made to wear a helmet or be fined.

i ride bikes. i have and probably always will. no matter what i chuck the stack hat on. even if its just on the driveway or going for a reasonable ride.
i have come off bikes before, many times. and if i wasnt wearing a helmet i probably would not be typing right now.
i have had a helmet split apart from a fall (shell came detached from inside) at the same time i was blacked out (fainted)
i have seen so many crashes occur with heavy head hits it isnt funny. yet they all walked away fine from helmets.

if you do not like the looks of a helmet and use it as an excuse you are pretty pathetic.
the amount of designs colours and styles available is huge. you just need to look hard enough

as for wearing a helmet as dressing up like craig lowndes.
unless your in a full face/goggles. long sleeve. gloves, knee pads and the whole downhill race gear. your not dressed like Lowndes.

as for your comments milky.
i pay insurance and rego on my car. yet i like to and enjoy riding bikes.
no i do not ride on the roads unless required (so 10% of my riding is on road). i ride on the footpath/dirt paths and move out of the way when people are coming the other way.
so why should i have to pay for a registration that will eventually be made too big to want to keep riding? (imagine telling your kids. you cannot ride because of the cost)
yes some cyclists have no idea. and yes some do the wrong thing. including things like leaning for balance (it isnt hard to take your clip in shoes out of the pedal)
however like P platers the 1 or 2 that do the wrong thing give the rest a bad name.

to give you a perspective. i ride my bike down the street. i pull up at the front door of the shop and then can go straight in. no worrying about a carpark.
so maybe you should be happy we ride bikes. less spaces being taken up by us when you have to go down the street.

[ozz]

I used to ride a bmx, still do very occasionally. I would very rarely wear a helmet. They are uncomfortable and annoying. If i was going to try something dangerous then i'd put one on. It shouldnt be the law though, people know the risks and hell it might even help darwin out a bit.

I have landed on my head without a helmet a fair few times. Every time though its the face that hits first, a helmet isnt going to help there. They have their place but you shouldnt get a fine for not having one.

I remember once about 4 years ago in melbourne we were riding, witnessed a big gang of people mug bash and truck a guy in the head with his own skateboard; all we could do is do our best to make them chase us, and as we were riding away we got pulled up by the cops, and we told them about what had just happened, they were more concerned with why we werent wearing helmets.

[cracker]

I say go for it, Darwin will take care of a few and there will be less cyclists on the roads.

needs to read up on the theory of evolution... the fit young healthy are more likely to reproduce... cyclists fit the bill


far as im concerned a helmet isnt always needed, i ride down hill and well its pretty bad idea too not wear one for that, but riding around slow trails or paved paths i dont wear one, if i fall off and get hurt so be it, my choice.

[Grennan]

LOL. He thinks a helmet is reason why people hate cyclists? Yeah sure buddy.

Im all for it though. Will make magpie season more enjoyable

[Darren_L]

I'm a cyclist, and I pay over $2000 rego per year for my car, ute and motorbike yet I really only use the ute maybe a few times a week. The car & motorbike spend most of their time in my garage. So I pay more rego than the average motorist, yet hardly drive my vehicles on the road.

and you'll find most adult cyclists also own at least one vehicle they pay rego for.
At least cyclists are making an effort to keep fit, which costs the health system less than fat, lazy people who drive their car everywhere. I ride on footpaths and biketracks when I can, but I still use the road when necessary and I obey the rules the same as if I was driving the car. Cyclists don't cause traffic jams, cars do......

As for helmets. I think you are stupid if you ride a bike and don't wear one. But the bottom line is, we should be responsible for our own safety. If people don't want to wear them, so be it. Just don't expect the taxpayer to put humpty dumpty back together again if you stack it and crack your skull open on the bitumen...

[MikeCuzzy]

I've always though adults have the right to decide what they do with their bodies. If they don't want to wear helmets, fine. But when they crash and are either brutally injured or die - they have no right to complain.

[DevilDRake]

LOL. He thinks a helmet is reason why people hate cyclists? Yeah sure buddy.

Im all for it though. Will make magpie season more enjoyable

Haha I used to go past my best mates house every morning with him just to get swooped for a week.. We stopped because the last day they didn't stop following and they got faster :S

[axemurderer101]

lol anyone else get to wear one of these things when they were a kid? should make them compulsory haha

[hi_ryder]

i bet indian larry wished he was wearing his helmet that day.

people that ride with no helmets are called organ donors...

[m1lky]

To clarify my statement comes from cyclists in nz. It is common for them to ride 3 or 4 abreast, holding up traffic. They constantly run red lights etc and expect traffic to stop for them.