cycling laws

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Hey, Organ Donor, you still have a choice: you're quite free to disrespect the law if you want and not wear a helmet. They ain't gonna come and hold you down and crazyglue it to your head. <LOL> But you don't get to choose the consequences. A bit like life, in that regard, really.

The official estimate for the economic cost to the rest of the community of every traffic related early death was some $100,000 dollars as of about 10 years ago. So add 50% for today's dollars. Not wearing a helmet increases the risk of early death or debilitating brain injury significantly, so there is a real cost to us of your choice.

Given that you come from the land of economic rationalism and "user pays", I'm sure you won't mind if we apply the same "user pays" principle to your assumption of risk.

Think of it as a "fee" rather than a "fine". :D
I hate to burst your bubble here, but wearing a helmet will only protect your head in mild to moderate impacts. The purpose of helmets is to reduce the cost associated with disability and reduce the incidence of death arising from mild to moderate head trauma. In any accident involving multiple trauma, it is the other injuries which are more likely to kill you, not necessarily the head injury.

I am strongly in favour of helmet wearing, however, I am concerned by the powers some people seem to ascribe to what is in fact nothing more than a layer of polystyrene with a plastic shell over the top. If the accident is bad enough, you can be festooned in helmets but they will not save your life.

Basscadetz, wear a helmet - the drivers on the Central Coast are bad enough that you WILL need the protection at some point in your cycling.

matagi, mate, what bubble? I think we're in furious agreement. Even if you come through an impact with skull intact, the splashing of one's brain inside one's skull from high-G deceleration can still prove very fatal.

However, a hemet improves the probability of survival considerably. Especially where the other injuries are survivable.

I can tell you a story about a father who was fooling with his kids at a BMX track near Wollongong. He did a slow-speed face-plant off one of the jumps. His 8-year old kid comes up to a mate of mine who was practicing with his R/C model racing buggy and asks for help: "Mister, my dad's fallen off his bike and I can't wake him up".

My mate knew the instant he saw him on the ground there was going to be no waking him up. :( A helmet would have improved his chances considerably.

oh come now, we all know the two real reason's for wearing a helmet down here...

a) it keeps your head together after it's been smashed, coz the ambo's are too lazy to have to clean you up with a spatula,

and

b) something worse than magpie swooping - we should let him in on the one thing that Aussie Tourism tries to hide from the world! The Drop Bear threat.
For night riding through areas with many trees and the threat of these vicious little buggers landing on your head, you do need protection.
When you get here, Bassca old son, you'll soon learn about these little animals.
You'll also notice a couple of things;
- there aren't too many trees in the cities. in the burbs yes, but not in the central business districts, or any districts with major nightspots. the only trees you will see there are young trees that aren't strong enough to hold these animals.
- that there aren't too many convertibles on the roads in Australia
and both for good reason!

If you know of the real Tasmanian Devils (not that stupid cartoon one), then you'll know how vicious they are, and the Drop Bears are nastier. they're related to the koala, and are a slightly smaller version. if you see one, then like most of Australia's dangerous wildlife, you are best to avoid them.
Attacks aren't too common, but happen on about the same frequency as shark attacks.
A helmet will help you survive, as they tend to land on your highest point, being your head. So stay helmetless at night at your own peril.

Another animal that is not mentioned in any adverts about Australia is the Wombat. You must always give way to these animals! They're Australia's answer to a miniature bovine. Once again you won't find them in the cities just yet but they're out there in numbers in the burbs. They're very well known for destroying small Japanese 4 door imports when they collide so you definetly have to be aware of these creatures. So using strong lights at night is a must!

I hate to burst your bubble here,......

Finally, a sensible response. Check out the following...http://www.magma.ca/~ocbc/hfaq.html

I will always wear a helmet when riding, but not for the reasons our pollies are trying to ram down my throat.

you cant fool me with the drop bear. we have something similar in the states, the snipe. ive never seen one, but i hear they're pretty nasty!

nice try!

you cant fool me with the drop bear. we have something similar in the states, the snipe. ive never seen one, but i hear they're pretty nasty!

nice try!
I thought a snipe was a bird with a long, curved beak?

it is, but the its not native to the states. how about "the american snipe"?

how about "the american snipe"?

Isn't that a disgruntled college student with a remington 700 or something similar? I hear they like to lurk in clock towers and the like. :p :p :p :rolleyes:

actually the wombat's a good one to watch out for - they happily rip out the undercarriage of most vehicles if you're silly enough to hit one.