Helmet laws (or, biking in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

This topic has 2 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 10 months ago by vvill.

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August 22, 2013 at 1:04 pm #914005

jrenaut
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Helmet law by thetejon, on Flickr

So I’m back from our trip to Australia. I did not bike at all while I was there, though there were numerous times I really wanted to (Especially as I was driving our rental car around Tasmania and watching this woman killing a large hill on a road bike).

Anyway, as you may be able to see, the state of Victoria has mandatory helmet laws. I later confirmed it, but I knew it must be law after I saw not one but two bearded dudes on fixies wearing helmets. It seems fairly easy to get a helmet, though most of their bikeshare bikes do not have them, as this one does (aside – bikes are just like CaBi and they were blue before Citibike so chew on that NYC. Late to the party again). Most 7-11s apparently sell $5 helmets that I get the impression are subsidized by whoever runs the bike share program. Melbourne bike share is older than DC but much smaller.

My point, mostly, is that anecdotally their helmet laws hurt ridership. I think it would be great to contact the local equivalent of WABA over there to find out more. Melbourne is a flat city, well served by public transport, and very bike friendly. Bike lanes everywhere, green bike boxes, lots of share the road signs, etc. I think we could learn a lot from them that would apply here. Melbourne cyclists, from what I could tell, tend to be white and male much more often than DC cyclists. Part of this may be due to Melbourne demographics, but I can’t believe it explains all of it.

Other things to do over there if you’re bored – rent a 4X4 small SUV with a six-speed manual to drive on the wrong side of the road. When I get through the 1000 or so photos I took, I’ll post a picture of it parked in front of the Tasmanian winery owned by a former Tour de France cyclist.

Not a mirror image by thetejon, on Flickr

Another thing we need to do – alternative paint job CaBis

One of these things is not like the other by thetejon, on Flickr

Lastly, this is for vvill

Boag’s Centre for Beer Lovers by thetejon, on Flickr
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September 18, 2013 at 12:31 am #981561

jrenaut
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Not biking, but more crazy laws – I noticed when I was driving on the highways that everyone was doing exactly the speed limit. Maybe that’s because the speed cameras are incredibly sensitive, and you can get a ticket in the mail for $180 for doing 8km over the limit.

September 18, 2013 at 12:50 am #981562

vvill
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Wow – sorry I missed this thread when you originally posted it! Nice photos. Did you see many “utes” on the roads?

Helmets are also mandatory in the state of New South Wales (where I lived), although they weren’t when I first started riding a bike. I remember when my parents had to go and get helmets for us. They were heavier and bulkier than those of the 21st century…

(I do think that mandatory helmet laws reduce ridership, especially amongst casual riders.)

Anyone particularly interested in a brief synopsis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmets_in_Australia

And yeah it took me awhile to realize that going 10-15mph over the limit was the norm around here (which I still feel is pointless – why have a limit when it’s not actually enforced at that limit). With speed cameras in a lot of places in Sydney I rarely would go 5kph over the limit. I’ve gotten two speeding tickets there, one for doing 12kph over the limit (lost all but 1 point on my licence and had to drive reeeeallly carefully for a year) and another I don’t remember, but around the same, 10kph over or so. Very expensive. Parking tickets are also really expensive. The blood alcohol limits are also stricter than here.
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