The Law

[Deleted member 25121]

Very common to see families out riding with the parents not having helmets, and the children wearing them completely wrong.

Why is that wrong?

 

[sjpt]

The way they are wearing them is not giving them significant protection (too lose, too far back). I call that wrong.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

The way they are wearing them is not giving them significant protection (too lose, too far back). I call that wrong.

Ah, I see now. Yes, that's wrong, probably worse than useless.

 

[sjpt]

In fact they get the disadvantages of secondary safety (perceived protection reducing awareness and increasing risk of accident) without the benefits (reduced damage in case of accident).

 

[Michael Price]

I started wearing a helmet becsue I worked in a aschool - seemed wrong for them to be told to wear a helmet and then I'm wandering in and out on my bike without one
And kids are more susceptible to head injury - especially as helmet are (apparently) most use in very slow speed accidents - which kids have when learning

After a year or so of leaving the school I was still wearing it I fell off at about 2mph (sharp corner, wet leaves on mud, kids coming up path - go figure) - broke my arm but otherwise seemed ok - until a few weeks later when I looked at my helmet - BIG dent in it just where I thought my head had gently touched the path - glad it wasn;t my head with that dent!

SO I mostly wear one now - totally support anyone choosing not to

 

[soundwave]

i used to throw chairs and tables at my teachers at school imo they should have been given full face crash helmets pmsl.

 

[Michael Price]

i used to throw chairs and tables at my teachers at school imo they should have been given full face crash helmets pmsl.

I used to be a teacher - sounds like you might have been in my school!!!!


I found the trick was to be too close to the kid for them to get any momentum behind the chair

and to be good at knowing who was 'having a bad day'

 

[soundwave]

you might dodge one not 5 and the tables next we spent most of the day watching tv and playing mega drive as no one wanted us in a lesson.

tho soon as they got you alone you got it back with a kick in

 

[BazP]

Reading all of the above about secondary safety I have deduced that we would all be a lot safer if cars had no airbags, no seat belts, no brakes and a metal spike protruding from the centre of the steering wheel. For road accidents, hospitals should demand a credit card with at least £10,000 credit before any medical help is given.
On a more serious note, I remember that there used to be a charge for the ambulance in the case of a road accident. I wonder if this still applies.

 

[Nealh]

I suspect the 4 y/o little girl was wearing a badly fitted helmet and maybe why she was killed by it strangling her up in the tree, a very sad incident and a silly waste of a young life.

 

[Nealh]

The research Flecc mentions I have seen and read some of these before and for what ever reason the rationale of a driver changes as they think a rider is safer, unfortunately for the rider they are less safe because of the Moton's thinking.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

The research Flecc mentions I have seen and read some of these before and for what ever reason the rationale of a driver changes as they think a rider is safer, unfortunately for the rider they are less safe because of the Moton's thinking.

What's a "moton", do you mean "motion"???

 

[Nealh]

Moton is derogatory term for motorist, when they are out of the car they may revert to being a Moron.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

Moton is derogatory term for motorist, when they are out of the car they may revert to being a Moron.

So if you drive a car you're a moron right? You drive a car so how do you feel about that?

It's this us and them attitude between motorists, cyclists, ecyclists, pedestrians, horse riders etc etc that brings us all down to being morons. Why can't we be respectful of each other, we'd all feel better and we'd be a lot safer on the roads.

 

[corvay]

I‘ve done all the above and its the exceptions for each that spoil it for the rest of us, icluding cyclists.

Personally I think everyone should have to learn to ride a motorcycle in a busy city in winter when’s it‘s blowing a gale, driving sleet and ice on the road. Arguments for not wearing a helmet, safety gear and appreciation of just how vulnerable you are go out the window pretty quickly.

Appreciate in a sunny climate where the roads are open and there are hardly any hazards even wearing a helmet seems crazy.

 

[Michael Price]

At the end of the day most car drivers are sensible and careful - if they weren't then every cyclist would be dead after a single commute
The problem is that if you come across one person who, for a single second, doesn't actually look properly and pulls out in front of you - then THAT is the driver you will remember.
In reality it may be one person and that specific person may normally be perfectly attentive - but for a second they caused you a problem. On the other hand they may be a total moron who just ignores all people that are in a lower category than them (i.e. riding a bike = poor - not worthy of attention or road space) and ignores them. Normally you can;t tell - it was a minorish incident but that is the one thing you rember of the whole ride
WHat you don;t remember is the 100-200 (or whatever) drivers that were on the road at the same time as you that behaved perfectly well.
I sometimes look at a web site that has a 'near miss of the day' section - and some of the things are really bad - but in most cases there is a video of maybe 5 minutes where 10 or so cars are in shot - only one causes a problem - but that is the one that is on the video.

We all need to remember that the vast majority of car drivers (and vans etc) are perfectly OK - and not just lump them all in with the one person who caused a problem this morning

Oh - and of course - everyone needs to remember that the vast majority of cyclists are perfectly OK - and not all are like that bloke I saw a few days ago riding his dark coloured mountain bike down the middle of the main road - doing a wheelie - wearing the normal black hoodie (hood up of course), black trousers, black trainers - and naturally no lights in spite of it being dark and a badly lit road
He probably went through the traffic lights on red as well but I wasn't there when he got to them!

 

[gw8izr]

At the end of the day most car drivers are sensible and careful - if they weren't then every cyclist would be dead after a single commute
The problem is that if you come across one person who, for a single second, doesn't actually look properly and pulls out in front of you - then THAT is the driver you will remember.
In reality it may be one person and that specific person may normally be perfectly attentive - but for a second they caused you a problem. On the other hand they may be a total moron who just ignores all people that are in a lower category than them (i.e. riding a bike = poor - not worthy of attention or road space) and ignores them. Normally you can;t tell - it was a minorish incident but that is the one thing you rember of the whole ride
WHat you don;t remember is the 100-200 (or whatever) drivers that were on the road at the same time as you that behaved perfectly well.
I sometimes look at a web site that has a 'near miss of the day' section - and some of the things are really bad - but in most cases there is a video of maybe 5 minutes where 10 or so cars are in shot - only one causes a problem - but that is the one that is on the video.

We all need to remember that the vast majority of car drivers (and vans etc) are perfectly OK - and not just lump them all in with the one person who caused a problem this morning

Oh - and of course - everyone needs to remember that the vast majority of cyclists are perfectly OK - and not all are like that bloke I saw a few days ago riding his dark coloured mountain bike down the middle of the main road - doing a wheelie - wearing the normal black hoodie (hood up of course), black trousers, black trainers - and naturally no lights in spite of it being dark and a badly lit road
He probably went through the traffic lights on red as well but I wasn't there when he got to them!

Doh! you are completely ruining the car v cyclist argument by applying common sense ;-)

 

[BazP]

Doh! you are completely ruining the car v cyclist argument by applying common sense ;-)

It’s car versus car that causes me the most problems. I tend to leave a large gap between me and the car in front but find myself going backwards in the line of traffic because cars insist on overtaking to get one place further forward.
I once saw a documentary on driving habits and a rep driving a Mondeo said that there was no way he would let a Fiesta get past him. You just never know what idiot is driving the car next to you.

 

[gw8izr]

It’s car versus car that causes me the most problems. I tend to leave a large gap between me and the car in front but find myself going backwards in the line of traffic because cars insist on overtaking to get one place further forward.
I once saw a documentary on driving habits and a rep driving a Mondeo said that there was no way he would let a Fiesta get past him. You just never know what idiot is driving the car next to you.

I have a number of hobbies and pastimes, for some reason most of them sit on the edge of what people consider normal. Not that I care about that

I’m part of a number of online forums and there is one thing common to all of them.

Pretty much everyone hates everyone from another group!

My motor sport friends hate cyclists, they also hate people that shoot. My shooting friends hate cyclists, motorists..... My photography friends hate cyclists, motorists and .... my electrician friends hate joiners and painters, my friends from Wigan hate Mancs, my Welsh friends hate the English and my cycling friends hate motorists etc... it’s laughable really.

Now hate today of course is reserved for a certain generation that have never experienced real hatred, but that’s perhaps for another discussion.



What makes me smile is that none of them would say boo to a goose in person

 

[Deleted member 25121]

What makes me smile is that none of them would say boo to a goose in person

That's so true, I've been thinking this for a while. My theory is that it's a social media thing where people feel the need to be part of the group and also have the platform to say things without fear of retribution.

The more audacious their claims the closer they feel to the group.

(Personally I'd shoot all motorists, pedal cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders, dogs and children.... )