Posts by Russell Brown
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to Matthew Poole,
I do the airport circuit on a regular basis. I actually feel safer on the shoulders of George Bolt (100km/h in places, for the unfamiliar) than I do on some of the suburban 50km/h streets that I take to get there.
Fair enough -- but the harbour motorway is something else. I feel uncomfortable passing cyclists on that road.
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Kah Chan of bikeeverywhere.co.nz has pointed out to me their video showing the ride into the CBD and back out to Petone, which takes in the roundabout in question. To be honest, the idea of riding the shoulder of a motorway with cars passing at 100km/h gives me the shits. There should be something better than that.
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I've already posted some photos in the Summer thread, but here's a little movie of the Marriage Equality float getting the love as it went by.
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to BenWilson,
I’m going to call bullshit on your assertion that it was all down to the helmet law that suddenly people stopped riding bicycles.
…you’d need to link to where I made that assertion. I’d say it’s a contributing factor, though, and quantifying that would be very difficult.
Abstract of a frequently-cited Australian study:
ISSUE ADDRESSED: To evaluate the effects on public health in Australia of compelling people to wear a bicycle helmet while cycling.
METHODS: The processes of introducing compulsory wearing of bicycle helmets, evidence of their efficacy relative to scientific knowledge of brain injury, effects of compulsory wearing on public health and official actions to uphold the policy are examined.
RESULTS: It is shown that action to make the wearing of a bicycle helmet compulsory was a response to fear of death and chronic disability from brain injury, and it was taken at a time when cycling was increasing and the risk of casualty was falling. It appears that governments did not verify the efficacy of helmets and disregarded research which found that they can increase brain injury. After the legislation was introduced, rates of cycling declined sharply with loss of benefits for health, but the risk of casualty increased.
CONCLUSIONS: Compulsion to wear a bicycle helmet is detrimental to public health in Australia.
Also, these guys collect published evidence sceptical of helmet effectiveness or promotion. There’s quite a lot of it, including some looking at the impact of the cycle helmet law in New Zealand:
Because the large increases in wearing with helmet laws have not resulted in any obvious change over and above existing trends, helmet laws and major helmet promotion campaigns are likely to prove less beneficial and less cost effective than proven road-safety measures, such as enforcement of speed limits and drink-driving laws, education of motorists and cyclists and treatment of accident black spots and known hazards for cyclists.
Me, I’m happy with a helmet in most circumstances.
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to JackElder,
Personally: I wear high-viz when I think it’s appropriate. This morning, I cycled to work wearing a gilet (the Ground Effect Vespa, buy NZ made!)
I've got a lightweight Nike windbreaker in fluoro green with reflectors, which I carry all the time in my pack. But for me it's neither practical or necessary in the daytime.
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to BenWilson,
Yup. At night, flashing lights. During the day, it’s mostly about how you behave. Ride big like you are actually a vehicle.
I'm quite happy to let the big vehicles go through in some places -- I have no problem with slowing or stopping if I think it will be safer. But more often it's important to get out in the middle of the lane and be visible if it means the driver sees you sooner.
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to HORansome,
As a cyclist (well, a newly reborn one after about twenty years of not getting on a bike), I’m really curious about the psychology of people not wanting to wear helmets whilst riding. I know a fair number of cyclists who wear helmets but complain about it whilst I, on the other hand, won’t get on a bike without one because I’m petrified about damaging my brainmeats.
I'm happy with a helmet, although I do feel a certain freedom on the odd occasion when I go without. But wearing a sodding hi-viz vest everywhere? No. That would be highly impractical. I think there are better things I can do to be visible than that.
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to Ben Gracewood,
I was wearing my bright fluro yellow riding shirt this morning. For some reason the power of hi-vis didn’t stop this bus from running a red light in front of myself and a bunch of kids:
Far out.
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Capture: Someone, Somewhere, In Summertime, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Nice to see David Shearer, er, out…
I gather he asked the Rainbow Labour people if he could walk with them. He genuinely seemed to be having a great time, and talked to people in the crowd all along.
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And some more Pride Parade!
