Thanks, but mind your own business

Comment

Comment by Paul Martin on November 25, 2011 at 8:49pm

Hi Ken,

 

No, we are definitely breaking the law by not wearing helmets. I'm a conscientious objector... if only there could be such a thing with this daft law.

 

My beef was with this Little Hitler who thought that it was his job to point out infringements at the top of his voice while cycling like a complete moron on a narrow shared path! 

 

The fine for not wearing a bicycle helmet on a road, or road related area (ie. pretty much everywhere except your backyard) is $100

 

:)

Comment by Ken Russ on November 25, 2011 at 12:03pm

Hi Paul

I am just a bit curious now. Are you implying you were right in not wearing your helmets, or just that you were yelled at?

I thought it was compulsory to wear helmets while cycling in Queensland.

Comment by Shaun Moran on November 21, 2011 at 4:13pm

BTW - If you want a number of stickers in a (smallish) quantity then have a look at Stickermule - http://www.stickermule.com/ 

I've heard nothing but good things about them and I noticed that they ship internationally now. DC Rainmaker (http://www.dcrainmaker.com/p/stickers.html) used them to create his custom stickers (of which I proudly bought 5).

Comment by Paul Martin on November 21, 2011 at 1:06pm

Just last week I rounded a corner in the Mango (slowly) and there was a skateboarder coming the other way. He got a bit of a shock and jumped off his board which continued straight towards me. I stopped.

 

His board hit my front left wheel and broke a spoke. No big deal really and I didn't make a fuss. I realised that he didn't do it deliberately (and he had every right to be where he was). He apologised and meant it. I was happy with that.

 

What I *should* have done (for his penance) was ask him to go to GetUp! and vote up this idea! ;)

Comment by Paul Martin on November 21, 2011 at 1:01pm

Nice one, Shaun! I like it.

 

Paul, the one on the side of the Mango was done by a sign company. I created it (it's just words in a specific font) and gave them the EPS file. They created it from vinyl. It looks really neat though.

 

Estelle, yes, that was my comment somewhere on the intertubes about *expecting* children (and animals) to be erratic and therefore riding accordingly when near them - I'm also mindful of my bell use too... I'll ring it once but that's it, unlike some fools that ring incessantly while maintaining their speed and direction! This concept really came from the Dutch approach of 'strict liability' where it is seen as inexcusable to hit a child with your car (or bicycle). If adults are hit there is a 50% liability but it is 100% if it is a child.

 

We really seem to have lost the ability to show any empathy when someone does something unexpected... almost as if it was done to deliberately annoy us. As a result people react with anger and abuse when they should be responding with concern & support.

I think this is a symptom of what happens when we slowly relinquish personal responsibility and expect 'big brother' to take care of all of that with rules, regulations & signage. We are doing a great deal of harm to society by preventing people from *thinking* about how their actions affect others.

Comment by Shaun Moran on November 21, 2011 at 12:30pm

>> are you a graphic designer?

Ha Ha! My profession is probably the furthest away from anything arty (IT Security Consultant). However I do draw a mean Visio network diagram :-)

Good response BTW - I think people in general need to take a chill pill when riding. Too much racing, anger, etc going on. I like to remember why we are riding instead of driving - for enjoyment!

 

Comment by Estelle on November 21, 2011 at 12:25pm

Yeah Paul, I was cursed at by a gruff angry man once or twice, in situations where it didn't make sense.. I guess they were implying I was in the way but if I'm sticking to the left lane and being careful I can't do much else. There is no point letting this kind of thing bother us though but its something that always sticks with us which is a shame! Cursing at someone because they are helmetless is absurd too.

On another point though, even if someone is making a legitimate mistake then this whole angry swearing response is getting old. I think I remember reading something you wrote somewhere about how we need to accept that children will be children and will sometimes make erratic moves, and it's up to us to be diligent about what can go wrong when on a bikeway filled with people. I think this is so true and it goes for human error in general. Even if someone is doing the wrong thing, you don't swear at them in anger or belittle them, that just makes people less willing to learn for next time, probably not want to cycle ever again or lose faith in the human race in general. If an accident nearly happens and you get a huge shock then I suppose fair enough, but I'm sure this is very rare.

In Holland I never came across someone on a bike getting angry at someone else, EVER. If there were kids riding 3 or 4 abreast on a bikeway with a mini boombox in their basket playing Dutch rap (I saw this a lot), and there were adults behind them, they would just ring their bell or say 'pardon' to get past and the kids would obligingly move every time. Sometimes an elderly person would go quite slow or forget to indicate but nobody would get angry. It was more like treating people like you would if you were walking, being polite and gentle about it rather than swearing in people's faces as you bolt past them. I'm certain I am preaching to the converted here though.

Wow, I can't believe the police ignore or just give warnings to you. It goes to show how seriously they take the helmet law.. Do you tell them you disagree with the law? I'll have to work on a fake Dutch second-English accent like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu9CrXTY5Lk&feature=related

 

Haha Shaun Moran I like your 5 minute logo, are you a graphic designer?

Comment by Shaun Moran on November 21, 2011 at 11:33am

No problems Paul S - didn't know Dr Paul already had a sticker ...

Comment by Paul Stockwell on November 21, 2011 at 11:28am

What was the one you have on the side of the Mango, Paul?  That looked really professional.

 

(Not saying yours doesn't look professional, Shaun, just that there's no point reinventing the wheel :) )

 

Comment by Shaun Moran on November 21, 2011 at 11:22am

Best I could do in 5 mins :-)

 

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