No helmet!!

[steve]

I went to Kyalami today............it was quite shambolic, but that's not the reason for this post.

 

Some macho twit decided it would be cool to ride without a helmet...yhought this was a no helmet-no ride place!!

 

He was quite a big oke on a full suspension Gary Fisher

[Jason]

steve I saw him as well... shame man... looks like the dude just started out and trying to get a few kilos off and maybe do the 94.7 I felt sorry for him and he was really trying but yeah I agree no helmet is rather silly. Averaging 15kph is maybe ok to ride without a helmet... but yeah I hear what you saying.

steve, you say it was shambolic? Why?

Jason2006-09-06 14:09:54

[steve]

Jason, he was doing 60kph down the hill!!!

Shambolic coz we had to wait at the gate for so long, then got sent to the car park and then despatched to the pit complex.

Luckily I'm one of them FTF (fat tyre freaks) so I did my own thing while everyone else waited.

[Sir Fed]

I dont get it with all the helmet police out there.

 

If the guy wants to ride without a helmet he is not endangering you, it might be a stupid thing to do but why make a big issue out of it?

[Jason]

steve... Kyalami is under new management and the changes started as of Monday/Tuesday. Apparently they waiting for bands that the cyclist can wear and show at a later stage. ehehe @ Sir Fed

[linnega]

bite tongue...bite tongue... steve stupid...bite tongue...www.cyclehelmets.org...enough said.

[steve]

Don't get me wrong, I believe in freedom of choice and wish everyone would stop trying to protect me from myself, but if we are going to promote the 'no helmet, no ride' thing then it should at least be consistent.

 

I'm happier wearing a helmet on the track, but admit that sometimes I nip down to the shops and don't wear a helmet which is probably more risky considering it is on public roads, but I'd feel a bit like a silly psychedelic alien walking into Woolworths or Nedbank with full lycra kit and a luminous Limar perched upon my cranium!!

 

I must say the track is looking better than it did a few months ago.

[scotty]

Them's the rules of Kyalami and printed on the doc we had to sign so lets stick to them. 

[Sir Fed]

Yup but thems also the rules of the road in the country and how many commuters do you see wearing a helmet? Making rules for the sake of making them is not productive. If you cant police them then dont make them. Sir Fed2006-09-07 01:23:26

[SwissVan]

Do rules have to be policed and enforced??

That?s half the problem?

Anyway the reason they have it as rule is just to cover their (Kyalami owners) butts incase Gary Fisher type dude family sue them after he spills his brains, why should they worry about enforcing it.

 

 

[Guest Michelle]

We all have to sign indemnities at the front gate before we enter Kyalami anyway.  The problem is that now there isn't anyone at the gate to the track, so no one's checking the helmet thing anymore...

The number of cyclists have seriously increased over the last week or so.

Did anyone else notice how busy the roads were this last Sunday (with cyclists ofcourse )  I don't think I've ever seen so many people training!!

 

[SwissVan]

bite tongue...bite tongue... steve stupid...bite tongue...www.cyclehelmets.org...enough said.

 

Saw an interesting article yesterday about another study done with regards cyclists and helmets. Wonder if driver really do think like this... personally I don?t think I do but perhaps we do this subconsciously without realising it.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23366491-details/Helmet-wearing+cyclists+more+likely+to+be+knocked+down/article.do

 

Cyclists who wear helmets are more likely to be hit by overtaking vehicles, new research suggests.

Drivers get more than 8cm closer to cyclists wearing helmets than they do to bare-headed riders, because they are seen as being more experienced. And female cyclists are given more room on the road than male drivers, according to a survey from the University of Bath.

Traffic psychologist Dr Ian Walker used a bicycle fitted with an ultrasonic distance sensor to record data from more than 2,500 overtaking motorists in Salisbury and Bristol.

He said drivers were twice as likely to get close to his bicycle when he was wearing the helmet. Dr Walker said: "This was something I had suspected, as many cyclists had told me of similar experiences. The perception is that those wearing helmets are experienced and more predictable.

"Drivers think, 'He knows what he's doing, he won't do anything surprising'. But that's really quite a dangerous thought, particularly as so many cycling novices are told to wear helmets."

Dr Walker, whose research is to be published in the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention, was struck twice during the course of the experiment. Buses and trucks were found to be the worst offenders. While the average car gave cyclists 1.33m of room, the average truck got 19cm closer and the average bus 23cm closer.

To test another theory, Dr Walker wore a long wig to see if there was any difference in passing distance when vehicles thought they were overtaking a female cyclist. Vehicles gave him an average of 14cm more space when he was wearing the wig.

Dr Walker said this may be because women are seen as less predictable than men on the roads, or because female cyclists are more rare and so are treated with more caution.

Dr Walker said he hoped his research would raise awareness of the dangers facing cyclists on busy roads.

More than 11,000 cyclists were injured and 109 killed on UK roads in 2004, the latest year for which figures are available. Overtaking cars are arguably the most dangerous hazards for riders.

Dr Walker said: "We know from research that many drivers see cyclists as a separate subculture to which they don't belong.

"I hope drivers will realise that they are making these assumptions about cyclists based on their appearance. If as a result of this study there were less injuries on the roads, then that would be a wonderful thing."

The research comes as Labour considers plans to make bells compulsory on all bicycles. Cyclists would face on-the-spot penalties and even two years in jail if they did not warn pedestrians of their approach.

Current laws require bells to be fitted on bikes when sold, but owners are free to remove these when they want.

Transport minister Stephen Ladyman has promised to hold a public consultation on the matter, after Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis raised the issue in Parliament.

Mr Willis said more safeguards were needed to prevent collisions between pedestrians and cyclists. But critics said the proposals would be difficult to enforce

[scotty]

Makes interesting reading and more ammunition for Linnega.

[SwissVan]

 

 

To test another theory, Dr Walker wore a long wig to see if there was any difference in passing distance when vehicles thought they were overtaking a female cyclist. Vehicles gave him an average of 14cm more space when he was wearing the wig.

 

Wonder if he used a Blonde wig? Perhaps Blondes would have been given more room by passing motorists

SwissVan2006-09-12 01:21:05

[ewep]

Enter in Google -> Buy blond wigs in sa

[Guest Michelle]

Not in my experience.  Problem is the study was done in the UK where they have a little more common sense.  The guy wouldn't have made it through the study alive had he done it in SA.