no helmet

[steve]

Most motorists don't know its law for cyclists to wear a helmet, but they do know all road users must stop at stop streets and robots.

 

I wear a helmet and obey traffic signals ......... well, I do 98.7% of the time!!

[Dicky DQ]

And the other 1.3% of the time?? Baybe when GB was spotted he was also exercising his 1.3% option to break the law.....................

[Seepglad]

has the helmet law been tested in court?

[David #7]

If Gary and co had thier old hairnet jobs on that they used in the 80s would this thread have progressed this far?

David #72007-12-23 04:04:53

[Guest colonel]

Bitching about someone who does or does not choose to wear his/her helmet is like arguing about lifting the toilet seat when you take a piss.

 

I dont see how by them not wearing them it will make the rest of SA not wear them, I for one will wear my helmet and thats all that counts at the end of the day. If others are sily enough not to wear them then so be it its life and I will still sleep well tonight.

 

Rather look at something else worth bitching about like the electricity shortages, the inflation rate, petrol hike, crime to me these are far more serious cause if they carry on then you wont be able to ride your bike anymore and your helmet will be used to mount a torch on so you can see where you going at night when you walk cause you wont have petrol in your car to drive. These really are all more important than some cowboy not wearing a helmet-its his call not yours, mine or anyone elses.

[nellie]

Steve - my point exactly, other people don't give a toss whether you wear your helmet or not. Strangers(other cyclists usually)won't be affected by your choice not to do so.Not obeying other road rules can however affect (directly or indirectly) other road users.

 

 

 

Linnega...as for your comment as to us being close minded when we say that we won't ride with people who don't wear helmets...i respect your opinion,but i do have my reasons for saying so.

 

 

 

I care for the people i ride/train with&my cycling buddies are my best friends.I believe that a helmet protects you when you take a tumble as i experienced first hand.I fell@about 45km/h,my head took the initial impact,bounced off the tar exactly 3 times&after that i felt/heard my helmet scrape across the tar for another 4 or so meters.The rest of my body looked like a war zone with blood everywhere,but i only had minor cuts on my cheeck&forehead.I went cold when i imagined what my skull&face might have looked like if i hadn't been wearing a helmet.

 

 

 

Yes,you hurt yourself when you fall(broken collarbones, arms,legs,ribs)but i don't want to add a cracked skull to the list, thanx. But hey...different people, different opinions...it's a free country:-)

[nellie]

 

Rather look at something else worth bitching about like the electricity shortages' date=' the inflation rate, petrol hike, crime [/quote']

 

 

 

Ja,and world peace and the bright future of Afrikaans and the BOERE-nation;-)

[The Guy in Pink]

has the helmet law been tested in court?

 

I very much doubt it.

Our local Traffic cops have no knowledge of the law, and react with incredulous puzzlement when told of it's existence.

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.... perhaps it they were  told of the potential of the law to increase their bride take they would take more interest ....

[David #7]

Bongani Buthelezi just rode past my house, guess what, he never had a helmet on either, nore did he have trendy kit on.

[Willehond]

Willehond' date=' fair argument about the objectives of the cycle helmets website. However, I have yet to see any evidence other than wholly unreliable anecdotal evidence to support the use of helmets. Considering CTC's only goal is the promotion of cycling it is hard to see how their position on helmets would be biased.

I also do understand that some people feel they have the right to criticise people for not wearing helmets - I of course, reserve the right to tell them to go ****themselves.[/quote']

 

...and I for one will defend your right to the death!  On one of my last rides I told someone else those exact same words, but I digress...

 

All the anecdotes do add up, but they will never convince the sceptics.  It is like the smoking lobby who insist that nobody has PROVEN that smoking causes lung cancer, because people get lung cancer who don't smoke.  Like I said, I believe my helmet really saved me in a crash, but if I got hit by a fully loaded lorry it would have been purely ornamental.  So for me, it works and I will insist my kids wear it just as I insist they wear ther seatbelts and look before they cross the road (and stop at stop signs)

 

CTC's main argument is that forcing people to wear helmets will force them off bikes, thereby having less cyclists on the road and therefor less visible.  I think that is a bit hysterical and South Africa is proof that nobody refuses to get on a bike because they have to wear a helmet.  The same argument was used by the smoking lobby (if you stop people smoking in restaurants they will refuse to go out) and it turned out to be over the top.  Hey, we all got used to wearing seatbelts despite being told you could drown if your car fell off a bridge and got submerged!  We don't like being told what to do and yes we should question it, but it has to make some sense, doesn't it?

[Windbreaker]

Just to throw a spanner in the works here. In Holland there are literally millions of cyclists on the road everyday. I estimate that less than 15% of them wear helmets. On the other hand those that travel at high speed in groups i.e. sporting cyclists generally all wear helmets.

 

If ever a nation of people can be looked upon to do the sensible thing (and their laws reflect that) without being told to then it is the Dutch. Basically the slower commuter type cyclists don't wear helmets and those that ride in fast groups do.

 

One thing though is that the commuters are pretty much isolated form the motorist induced dangers that we face.

 

[Poison Ivy]

if we want to be realistic .... this morning (just after 7h00) Orca and myself went up Helshoogte pass (not the old one) and motor bikes (as usual) went up there at crazy neck breaking speads..... if one of those bikes lost control at those speeds and hit a cyclist (like myself), a helmet would not have made a difference any way....and yes I had mine on - never ride with out it...but, in certain circumstances a helmet could only be a "fashion accessory"

[steve]

Perhaps authorities and all the 'do gooders' should put the same effort into getting some respect for cyclists in general as they do in trying to get people to wear helmets.

 

Once cyclists are shown some respect on the roads ..... and show some respect for basic laws ...... then we perhaps wouldn't need to wear helmets!

 

I say: support Shaun who is doing a great job in creating awareness for cyclists.

[ewep]

 

Sjeez, what a load of CROCK!!!  Let me start, if GB decides to ride without a helmet, so be it.  It IS his right to decide what he wants to do (en hy's al mooi groot!).  How will I or you change his outlook?  BUT, I can educate my daughter to wear her helmet when she goes "cycling", and she won't be allowed to ride without it!

 

Linnega, yes, I might be a bit "dof", but if you pitch up at one of our rides without a helmet, I will tell you to piss off, and I will tell you you're not welcome.  My ride, my choice, and you won't be welcome!  That counts for anyone that joins one of the rides we do during weekends.

 

As for helmets saving lives, hmmmmm, no brainer.  Will you guys believe someone that has treated a cyclists (granting, not one of us lycra clad demons) that has been hit by a car?  He would have LIVED if he had a helmet!!!!!  Yes, LIVED.

 

And remember one thing, you CAN'T compare Europe to SA!!!!  In France cyclists have a DEDICATED road (2 lanes!!!)  I have asked a friend to send me a pic of this, will try to post it.  In SA you share the road with any- and everyone,  making it 1000% more dangerous!!!

 

So you decide, as a cyclists I will wear mine, always.  If GB, Andrew Mc, Willie E, Lance Armstrong, freekin George Bush decide that it's not worth wearing theirs, I won't mind.  I might be a dumb rock spider, but the bit I have I'll protect!

 

Finally, Linnega, you keep on refering to the sites from the UK.  Why don't you pack up and go and live there as you're trying to force local stuff into the UK mould!?  This is Africa, and Africa is a tough place.  We don't have a lobby group and crap like that everything in life!  We live life and do our own thing!

 

ewep2007-12-24 00:57:56

[Newboy]

Unfortunately in SA if you do something wrong and people point it out, it is ok to get aggressive. Still I will point out to idiots who do not ride with a helmets that they are stupid in the same way that I will do it for people who drive with children on their laps or children standing on seats. I have seen the results of both these practices first hand.

Mostly I will get told to mind my own "f....ng' business. I don't get upset by that because I feel I have to help these idiots. Hopefully one of them listens, though I seriously doubt it.

I still think it helps to set an example and will always ride with a helmet and buckle up my children.

 

[ewep]

TryBoy, VERY true!