Where's your helmet?

[Joe Low]

Looks like OP and Mrs OP were taken as parading their superiority rather than havin Barehead-Man's best interests at heart.

 

The really offensive follow-up comments seem to back this up.

 

A guy out on his bike by himself is prolly there to avoid being nagged at home - he certainly doesnt want it on the road from a stranger.

 

You dont have to wear a helmet in this country and you don't have to tell everyone else what to do. Guess what? They dont like it.

[DavidE373]

* Tell people in the traffic that they should wear their seat belt? - have done

* Engage people with projectiles un-seatbelted children in their car? - have done

* Tell people leaving restaurants/bars/clubs that they are in no condition to drive? - wouldn't tell a pissed person anything, but would discuss this with someone when sober, and also will admit to driving in a state less than sober

 

i'm not claiming to be a moral saint here

[DavidE373]

You dont have to wear a helmet in this country and you don't have to tell everyone else what to do. Guess what? They dont like it.

 

Many cyclists of all ages have been breaking the law, by not wearing their helmets as required by the National Road Traffic Act, 1993(Act No.93 of 1996).

 

 

A chief traffic officer confirmed that it was illegal to ride a bicycle without a helmet and said an enforcement of the law would follow a public awareness campaign.

He said that the department had not been enforcing the four-month-old law, blaming the three-year interval between the passing of the law and the date of effective enforcement.

"It would be unfair to enforce the law while nobody knows about it," the traffic officer said.

"To be honest, I don't think any provinces have done anything about this yet. An education drive needs to be launched to make the public aware of the new law."

 

 

In October 2004, regulation 207(2) of the National Road Traffic Regulation became effective after being passed three years earlier.

The regulation orders the compulsory wearing of a protective helmet that is properly fastened and fitted while riding a bicycle or being carried as a passenger.

Traffic department officials will be meeting soon with chief magistrates to decide upon a suitable penalty for breaking the helmet law.

[bikemonster]

i'm not claiming to be a moral saint here

 

That's what I figured.

 

So why, and again, I am interested to know why, not setting you up for a kicking, do you (or your wife) shout instructions at a random lidless cyclist?

[428 others]

It is the same as "Do not use in shower" on a hair dryer. I see it as natural selection...

[MaxUmis]

A roadie toppie wearing a cap passed me on Saturday as I was exiting Groenkloof on my MTB.

Because of his rather comical "shooter" howzit as he went past, I thought I'd let the fact that his head is unprotected go.

So while I'm slowly reeling him in as we're going up Botha, the thoughts of him really not being a good example turned through my thoughts. But I let it go. Then we get to the first set of traffic lights... Guess what... He skips them.

 

 

The greater car driving public thinks all cyclists are a menace because we don't adhere to the basic rules of the road and we have no sense of self preservation.

 

I try and do my bit by trying to be a good example. Then okes like this come along and undo all the good some of us try to uphold.

[bikemonster]

It is the same as "Do not use in shower" on a hair dryer. I see it as natural selection...

 

Pffft!

 

Anybody who rides a bicycle out of doors is taking a risk.

 

Strapping a styrofoam spanspek shell onto your pip is not going to make a large difference to the level of risk...although it may make a large difference to the perceived level of risk, which is another story entirely.

[Nimby]

I'm not so sure that uis cyclists have a "moral obligation" to other cyclists / road users at all - other than to conduct ourselves in a manner that complies with common road etiquette and laws. Personally I always ride with a helmet on but I also resent being told / reminded / advised what to do by other people when something really doesn't have anything to do with them at all.

Having said that, it does sound like the guys reaction was extreme and uncalled for.

[RacerX]

Hmm, this debate is rather like the gun debate in the US around the shooting of the congresswoman recently. All the focus is on the heat of the political debate that supposedly resulted in her shooting whereas it's plain to see that stupidly easy access to assault weapons enabled her mentally disturbed attacker to commit the crime.

 

The cycling safety debate focusses on wearing helmets and how terribly horribly naughty people are that don't wear them, when it's plain to see that awareness of one's surroundings, good bike handling skills, high visibility and general good sense constitutes cycling safely. Helmets are there as a last resort backup in case you or someone around you had a lapse of judgement. In most cases, all a helmet does in an accident is make you look slightly better at your funeral.

 

I cheerily greet people who ride without helmets but growl at people who ride like they're made invincible by a centimetre or two of polystyrene covering their head.

[DaLoCo]

Hmmm...almost two full pages and the obvious question has not been asked yet?

[bikemonster]

Hmmm...almost two full pages and the obvious question has not been asked yet?

 

Quite right!

 

So I'll ask it:

 

OP: Could you post a pic of your wife on the couch?

 

(Helmet optional.)

[Caerus]

So all the people havin a go for not wearing a helmet, do you all have the required lights & reflectors on their bikes for riding at night, do you never skip a red light?

 

Its there choice, leave them to do what they want to do.

 

 

[DavidE373]

That's what I figured.

 

So why, and again, I am interested to know why, not setting you up for a kicking, do you (or your wife) shout instructions at a random lidless cyclist?

 

simply because we feel we have an obligation to do so. whether it's right or not is clearly an issue for some. i wouldn't want to read about some cyclist who's cracked his head open because he wasn't wearing his helmet. cyclists already have such a terrible rep with motorists and this sort of thing doesn't help. you must also understand, going down the hill this guy was travelling at the same speed as the cars around him +-60km/h

[DavidE373]

Quite right!

 

So I'll ask it:

 

OP: Could you post a pic of your wife on the couch?

 

(Helmet optional.)

 

i shall certainly ask her

[bikemonster]

simply because we feel we have an obligation to do so. whether it's right or not is clearly an issue for some. i wouldn't want to read about some cyclist who's cracked his head open because he wasn't wearing his helmet. cyclists already have such a terrible rep with motorists and this sort of thing doesn't help. you must also understand, going down the hill this guy was travelling at the same speed as the cars around him +-60km/h

 

Ironically, travelling at the same speed as the traffic around him prolly makes him safer, not less safe.

 

Now, consider your reaction at being called out by somebody from a different "group" to your own for some minor infraction. Let's say a motorcyclist pulls up next to you at a set of lights and says, politely, "Hey bud! Do you realise you were driving 65 in a 60 zone back there? Please desist from such reckless behaviour!"

 

My guess is you wouldn't like it, and you wouldn't like it and you'd dismiss the biker.

 

Now, the lidless cyclist did exactly that. My guess, to complete my Psychic Dr Phil routine, is that what really p!ssed you off is that the cyclist was somewhat uncouth in his reaction to your wife, although I maintain his reaction (if not the uncouthness) was perfectly normal.

[Delgado]

Gotta agree with you boet - I am my brothers keeper - but why become abusive when he does not want to be kept!

...agreed!