Cyclists safety helmets and registration

[arcadia]

Do you think helmets and waterproof vest should be worm every time a cyclist rides a bicycle on the roads. The cyclist could then have a registration number on the back of the vest for identifcation.
The roads would be safer if cyclists were registered the same as vehicles.

[Gullscorer]

Yep, and also roller skates and skateboards and, where appropriate, sledges and skis. And while we're at it, register all pedestrians too; they should all have registration numbers on their backs. And don't forget dogs, cats, and horses. Register them all.

Alternatively, reduce speed limits, increase the penalties for traffic offences, and require all drivers to re-take a driving test every five years.

[arcadia]

What a good idea.

[GazTheGull]

Do you think helmets and waterproof vest should be worm every time a cyclist rides a bicycle on the roads. The cyclist could then have a registration number on the back of the vest for identifcation.
The roads would be safer if cyclists were registered the same as vehicles.

How exactly would the roads be safer if all cyclists were registered? It would just be easier to identify them. Helmets, I believe, should be compulsory as they can safe lives and I cannot truly understand why people wouldn't wear one while cycling on roads.

Yep, and also roller skates and skateboards and, where appropriate, sledges and skis. And while we're at it, register all pedestrians too; they should all have registration numbers on their backs. And don't forget dogs, cats, and horses. Register them all.

Alternatively, reduce speed limits, increase the penalties for traffic offences, and require all drivers to re-take a driving test every five years.[/quote]

This is the more sensible and logistical suggestion.

[ferrarilover]

The last thing we need is MORE regulation. Safety helmets are a physical embodiment of Darwinism. Anyone stupid enough to ride without one deserves everything they get. Lower speed limits will simply mean that cars and bikes will interact more. Speed limits are already catastrophically low, dropping them further will achieve nothing but raising more revenue from cameras and increasing the number of shit overtakes.
Road safety has nothing to do with the number on the stick, nothing at all. Velocity in itself is the issue, not its relation to a random speed selected by Parliament 60 years ago.
Mad suggestion.

Matt.

[arcadia]

I just thought drivers might respect cyclists more if they could be identified and cyclists would be more carefull if they can be identified. The cyclist would be safer with helmets.

[Gullscorer]

The last thing we need is MORE regulation. Safety helmets are a physical embodiment of Darwinism. Anyone stupid enough to ride without one deserves everything they get. Lower speed limits will simply mean that cars and bikes will interact more. Speed limits are already catastrophically low, dropping them further will achieve nothing but raising more revenue from cameras and increasing the number of sh*t overtakes.
Road safety has nothing to do with the number on the stick, nothing at all. Velocity in itself is the issue, not its relation to a random speed selected by Parliament 60 years ago.
Mad suggestion.
Matt.

That comment comes from a Ferrari lover, folks.. =D

[Gullscorer]

I just thought drivers might respect cyclists more if they could be identified and cyclists would be more carefull if they can be identified. The cyclist would be safer with helmets.

We're all agreed it makes sense to wear helmets. It also makes sense for cyclists to wear bright fluorescent jackets, so they can easily be seen by motorists. I'm not sure, though, that any of the steps mentioned above would in themselves make cyclists and motorists more careful. That would depend on education, social pressures, more frequent testing of both cyclists and drivers, and higher penalties for offences, to keep bad drivers and bad cyclists off the roads. And yes, where necessary, appropriate speed limits. Most people in modern society are in too much of a rush anyway..

[arcadia]

It's ok I thought I'd put in a tender to the government for supplying the vests I thought yellow and white stripes think of the new signings we'd have. All joking apart I think that it's time to make head gear a must.

[PlainmoorRoar]

The last thing we need is MORE regulation. Safety helmets are a physical embodiment of Darwinism. Anyone stupid enough to ride without one deserves everything they get. Lower speed limits will simply mean that cars and bikes will interact more. Speed limits are already catastrophically low, dropping them further will achieve nothing but raising more revenue from cameras and increasing the number of sh*t overtakes.
Road safety has nothing to do with the number on the stick, nothing at all. Velocity in itself is the issue, not its relation to a random speed selected by Parliament 60 years ago.
Mad suggestion.

Matt.

Spot on!

Helmets should be mantory, cycle awareness course too for a) cyclists as there are some nutters around! B) drivers involved in incidents with cyclists

[Gullscorer]

Even more important than helmets, important though they are, is that cyclists should be visible.

By the way, there always used to be a law preventing cyclists from riding on pavements. Why is this not enforced? As a pedestrian I've almost been knocked over a few times by young cyclists flying along pavements at lethal speeds.

[chunkygull]

It really should be compulsary that all cyclists should definitely wear safety helmets and some sort of hi-vis jacket or vest would be a sensible idea but a must in dark or night-time conditions.

It is shocking that none of this is actually law. Wearing safety helmets at all times and visibility clothing in dark conditions should be as much a part of cycling law as having lights on at night.

As for the registration thing,a lot of children take their cycling profficiency test at school to show they are competent to ride on the road, just think though many people just take to road on a bicycle without any lessons or proof of competence or safety whatsoever. Maybe everyone should have to take a competence or profficiency test, when they have done this they could be then be given their Cycling licence, just a certificate with their details and a registration number that stays with them for life.

[ferrarilover]

It shouldn't be compulsory at all. We already suffer far too much legislation "for our own protection". It's bollocks. People who are too **** stupid to look after themselves are also too stupid to usefully contribute anywhere in society. They're a burden on the rest of us and, if anything, should be encouraged to do dangerous things.

Stop dumbing us down to the level of the terminally stupid, I'll make my own decisions and live with the consequences, not be dictated to by those hell bent on defeating Darwinism one pathetic regulation at a time.

Matt.

[chunkygull]

to be honest Matt I couldnt give a toss about adults or people old enough to know better whether they get a head injury or worse because they should have been wearing a helmet. Its the poor sods who have to pick up the pieces I would feel for, the emergency services who have to scrape their brains off the floor, then those who have to look after and care for them if they have brain damage or those that are left to pick up the pieces and mourn them if they are killed.

Imagine how a motorist feels when a knob on a bike has collided with their car, the cyclist smacks their head and gets brain damage/dies. The cyclist wasnt wearing a helmet and would have been okay if they had been. The motorist wasnt at fault in any way but that doesnt make them feel any better, the guilt they would feel would be no less painful. Automatically many people choose to blame the motorist in these circumstances also. Even worse if its a child.

A child should be made to wear a helmet and safety gear by their parents/guardians, but then if they are morons who is responsible. It should be made law then there is no grey area. Leaving something like this for people to make their own mind up about doing the right thing just does not work.

I agree wholeheartedly that we already suffer too much regulation and government telling us what we can and cant do, what to think and just basically intruding and telling us what to do with our lives. It pisses me off and makes me sick and annoyed at times, but this is something so simple and neccesary.

Sometimes these people on bicycles are going just as fast as those riding a motorbiker yet the biker has to wear a helmet by law and the cyclist doesnt.

A few years ago I cycled a fair bit to work etc, I always wore a helmet, I wouldnt have felt very safe or comfortable if I hadnt. I did look a bit of a dick, but thats a small price to pay in case I came off and smacked my head.

[DTG]

Jesus t***y fe***n christ!!! People actually asking for MORE regulation. Get Government out of my life and out of my pocket. This is more of the same bullsh1t that has yellow lines painted on the Pop and crowd capacity reduced for "big" games. You can't even put rubbish in your bins for jobsworth nazis. What has happened to personal choice, responsibility and taking the consequaences. More nanny state cobblers..........rant over!! (my apologies if I've offended any t***y fe****s)