Are there more strict rules / laws for users of electric bikes ?
I have also noticed a few electric bike users in the bicycle lanes and doing significantly faster speeds than those being achieved by peddle powered bikes
When you where in Amsterdam did you happen to notice how many cyclists were wearing helmets because any time I've been there the majority dont were helmets
I must admit it's been about five years since I've been there so things might have changed
We can have discussions here until the cows come home Cyclists -V- Motorists -V- Pedestrians. We can even bring in the Gardaí, Senior Counsel, Cycling Clubs and argue more. But, really all we need is Common Sense and a recognition that all of us must share the roads/paths.
I...It's a real pity we don't have better infrastructure. I was in Amsterdam recently and it's a cycling utopia with everyone from students, to the elderly to professionals in suits all cycling around the place...it just looked like such an efficient way to get around. On a canal cruise we even say a multistory for bikes!...
I didn't see anyone wearing a helmet to be fair, but there are so many cycling, anyone driving was well aware. Also, where we were staying, I didn't see any buses, lorries or anything else that could kill a cyclist. The city is just so safe for cyclists, that there really isn't a need to wear a helmet. Here however, our infrastructure is completely inadequate for cyclists, hence my comment about wearing a helmet.
Lights are critical.Helmets are useful in limited situations as is Hi Viz and lights. (Lights are more useful). But they aren't the magic cloak you are suggesting.
True, but just point them down.You can usually run these more powerful bicycles in different brightness modes .
Cyclists should be aware if they run that too bright they are actually blinding other traffic
A helmet won't save you from a bus or a truck. And Hi Viz won't save from the blind spot of a large vehicle.
A helmet saves you from injuries from a fall, or a low impact strike. They are useful for that. You'll find a lot of head injury stats are not related to collisions in traffic at all.
Helmets are useful in limited situations as is Hi Viz and lights. (Lights are more useful). But they aren't the magic cloak you are suggesting.
Actually you are saying that where the cyclists mix with traffic they need helmet. That a helmet in some mitigates for infrastructure, or pro cycling laws and policies. But there is no evidence to support this. Why is a helmet or hi viz more important, than focusing on other stuff. Why ignore decades of experience in other countries and just bang on about helmets and Viz as a priority when there is no experience to support that it should be the priority.
I read a comment about the lack of cycling infrastructure in Ireland from a Dutch person. That they started with no infrastructure same as everywhere else.
https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/how-the-dutch-got-their-cycling-infrastructure/
That a helmet in some mitigates for infrastructure, or pro cycling laws and policies.
You may not be aware that's the end result.
If someone is stopped for having no motortax. They don't always mention if they were wearing a seat belt.
If someone robbed a phone on a bicycle they be sure to mention Hi Viz and helmets.
On some forums if you mention either on a cycling thread that's about something else you get a warning. That how prevalent is it.
You implied they don't need a helmet in Holland because of good infrastructure.
But in Ireland you always need a helmet regardless of infrastructure.
Which is contradictory. Which doesn't make any sense. Because falling off your bike is the same regardless where you do it.
So the fact you need a helmet in Ireland should mean its a good idea in Holland also.
So why don't you think you don't need a helmet in Holland...
Although the Netherlands is probably the safest country in the world for cycling, helmet wearing among Dutch cyclists is rare. It has been estimated that only about 0.5 percent of cyclists in the Netherlands are helmeted.
However, according to Dutch Government data (Rijkswaterstaat, 2008), 13.3 percent of cyclists admitted to hospital were wearing helmets when they were injured. Why does wearing a helmet appear to increase the risk of being injured so substantially?
The answer is probably related to another statistic. Of the injured cyclists wearing helmets, 50 percent were riding mountain bikes and 46 percent were riding racing bikes (Rijkswaterstaat, 2008). In other words, most helmeted cyclists in the Netherlands are engaged in a competitive activity, with very few making utility trips on the traditional style of Dutch bicycle.
no suggestion to make helmets compulsory there though.
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