Get rid of law for helmets

There are only two countries in the world where it is an offence to pedal a bicycle without a helmet: Aotearoa and Australia.

However, across the ditch it’s not enforced in all states.

In countries where cycling is prevalent one observes that cyclists participating in sports or high-speed cycling wear head gear and other protection.

Those who commute or casually bike for whatever reason, choose for themselves if they should don headgear or not. Authorities in those states as a general rule highly recommend helmet use, but stop short of criminalising its absence.

As a regular rider both here and previously overseas, I will point out that it is seldom a sensible cyclist has an accident and then it is mostly body scrapes.

Here in Rotorua we have the excellent idea of share with care whereby cyclists are allowed on footpaths, giving way to eventual pedestrians in the process. However in our fair city as well as the rest of Aotearoa, commuter cyclists are a small minority. Why is that?

Many commuter and casual cyclists wear head gear, not because of an accident concern but reluctance of the hassle about being stopped, confronted and possibly fined.

Now may we ask, who is keen on that? So one simply takes the car instead.

A backtrack by Wellington lawmakers on the offence part concerning omitted helmets, to one of recommendation as an eventual safety precaution, by the cyclist,