Article: Bid to axe cycle helmet law riles state

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail click here!

Bid to axe cycle helmet law riles state

Bid to axe cycle helmet law riles state

    by: Robyn Ironside
    From: The Courier-Mail
    November 02, 2011 12:00AM

A CAMPAIGN seeking to abolish compulsory bicycle helmet laws has incensed the State Government which has responsibility for road safety.

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 cards 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 the 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."

[#Metro]

http://melbourneurbanist.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/mandatory-bicycle-helmets-does-correlation-mean-causation/

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Filmmaker dreams of helmet-free future