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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