Bringing my bike to Darwin - do I need a helmet?

[arkle]

I hate wearing a helmet in Adelaide at the best of times. I get too hot. But I hear that the helmet laws aren't as Draconian in the Territory.

Soo... I'm coming to Darwin on holiday and I want to bring my bike with me on the plane. Will the police care if I ride in Darwin with no helmet on?

arkle

[trickle]

dont bother,they serve no purpose.

[hosko]

http://www.nt.gov.au/transport/ntroads/ ... Safety.pdf

I think this should answer your question better than the last poster.

[Oxford]

I would suggest that if you have to ask the question, the answer is no.

[trickle]

http://www.nt.gov.au/transport/ntroads/cycling/pdfs/BikeSafety.pdf

I think this should answer your question better than the last poster.

Geez chill out

What I should have done was use an emoticon and [mod says - personal attack removed].

Whats more, if your excuse for not wanting to wear a helmet is that you get too hot... take up chess.

[arkle]

http://www.nt.gov.au/transport/ntroads/cycling/pdfs/BikeSafety.pdf

I think this should answer your question better than the last poster.

Geez chill out

What I should have done was use an emoticon and linked to the mango riding zealot and his one sided opinions on the matter.

Whats more, if your excuse for not wanting to wear a helmet is that you get too hot... take up chess.

Haha funnily enough I play chess competitively!!

I can see I've opened a can of worms - I'm not really interested in the debate about whether we should have to wear a helmet, or whether they make a difference to safety, I just want to know if the police in Darwin are going to stop me and tell me off for riding without one on

Please?

arkle

[arkle]

http://www.nt.gov.au/transport/ntroads/cycling/pdfs/BikeSafety.pdf

I think this should answer your question better than the last poster.

Thank you hosko, but the confusing thing is that I was in Darwin last weekend visiting a friend and none of the cyclists I saw (on the road) had helmets on.

arkle

[trickle]

What league do you play in?

I'm in the Arathor battle league, we play full contact with edged weapons. Helmets are mandatory.

[arkle]

Well... I did bring my helmet with me and I did wear it on a 75km loop of the Darwin area yesterday. I saw lots of other cyclists and not one of them was wearing a helmet!

Very confusing

arkle

[trailgumby]

Depends on whether you want to win the Darwin Award or not.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

While I'm anti helmet compulsion, for anything more than a trip to the local shops I reckon you're not being real clever leaving your noggin unprotected. As as for being too hot wearing one in Adelaide at the moment, I struggle to see how when I'm buying a cap to keep my head warmer because it's so cold.

[WestcoastPete]

Old thread I know, but I'm bored and found it and thought I'd clear it up.

It is illegal to ride on the road without a helmet in the NT, but it is legal to ride without a helmet if you stick to the footpath/shared path. In practice, no one gets pulled up for not wearing a helmet so a lot of people don't.

Still, I'd wear one. I'd also avoid the footpath.

[ColinOldnCranky]

http://www.nt.gov.au/transport/ntroads/cycling/pdfs/BikeSafety.pdf

I think this should answer your question better than the last poster.

Geez chill out

What I should have done was use an emoticon and linked to the mango riding zealot and his one sided opinions on the matter.

Sorry Trickle - I too missed the facetiousness in your original post..

Whats more, if your excuse for not wanting to wear a helmet is that you get too hot... take up chess.

Spot on.

[bardynt]

yer i have to wonder with helmets these days having so many vents its not bad heat wise

i think if you are worried about heat and sweating you should be in air conditioned car instead

i always wear my helmet has saved me a few time esp when have hit pot hole and me flying over handle bars head first towards the ground

i suppose depends really if i see someone who has fallen off bike with head injuries but cant help but laugh and think wear a helmet you idiot

i suppose you right not to wear one but don't expect much sympathy from me if hurt you re head when you crash

[ColinOldnCranky]

Regardless of helmet or not, when riding places with full sunlight it can be bad, even fatal, to leave the back of the head uprotected from too much heat. Wear some form of back-of-the-head shade to reduce the sun. A simple layer of damp cloth can also act as a cooling radiator. All to protect the hyporthalmus from overheating - a VERY SERIOUS situation if it occurs.

Those silly hats with back-curtain that primary school uniforms sometimes have are not so silly after all.

[Gabon]

howdy folks - not into helmet debating but just a little story - got cleaned up by a reversing car mid december near hospital ( if you have to have an accident that is a good location) - helmet is the reason i am still here (ie roads and car were pretty hard) - bit of damage to the noggin but nothing fell out so thats good - wont be able to break any distance records this year

[arkle]

I didn't really want this to turn into a helmet debate, I was just asking about the law in Darwin.

I come from England where wearing a helmet is optional, but I can appreciate that riding on roads busy with motorised vehicles, like cars and trucks, is slightly safer if your noggin is protected.

Having said that, Darwin is one of the quietest cities in the world, and there are bike paths everywhere, and it's extremely hot and humid, so common sense dictates that helmet wearing should be optional. In Sydney CBD no for sure, but in Darwin? Clearly the NT government thinks the same way, since it's the only state in Australia that doesn't have a mandatory helmet law for adult riders.

And what's this guff about wearing a helmet or hiding inside an air-conditioned car? Grow up. Why should cycling automatically incorporate unnecessary discomfort in a tropical climate. There's always some wowser trying to tell you how to live your life.

arkle

[bardynt]

i suppose its really up to you if you wear a helmet or not

i personally wear a helmet in this weather rather have it protected. im going to sweat whether i wear a helmet or not

[hosko]

Last weekend one of our riders had his life saved wearing his helmet on the weekend group ride. Was serious enough incident that he lost half an ear.

Helmet was toast but it took the impact, not his head. Had he not been wearing one, damage may have been fatal.

Pretty simple choice really.

[trailgumby]

There's always some wowser trying to tell you how to live your life.

arkle

I love it when people use that wowser word. You know you've got them - they've got no real leg to stand on in either logic or evidence to support their position and have to resort to throwing epithets. Same as in the gambling debate

[arkle]

There's always some wowser trying to tell you how to live your life.

arkle

I love it when people use that wowser word. You know you've got them - they've got no real leg to stand on in either logic or evidence to support their position and have to resort to throwing epithets. Same as in the gambling debate

Heh heh that's the first time I've used the word "wowser" in my whole life! To be honest I'm not even sure what it means - I've seen other people using it and I assumed it meant someone who exaggerates or over-dramatises something for the sake of it; or someone who tries to stop other people having fun in their own way. I could be wrong

arkle

[Capsyze]

And what's this guff about wearing a helmet or hiding inside an air-conditioned car? Grow up. Why should cycling automatically incorporate unnecessary discomfort in a tropical climate. There's always some wowser trying to tell you how to live your life.

arkle

Indeed, there's always a kill-joy who wants to force their laws down the throats of everyone... Like "stopping at red lights"... Bah... "A Metre Matters"... Pffftttt....

[trailgumby]

There's always some wowser trying to tell you how to live your life.

arkle

I love it when people use that wowser word. You know you've got them - they've got no real leg to stand on in either logic or evidence to support their position and have to resort to throwing epithets. Same as in the gambling debate

Heh heh that's the first time I've used the word "wowser" in my whole life! To be honest I'm not even sure what it means - I've seen other people using it and I assumed it meant someone who exaggerates or over-dramatises something for the sake of it; or someone who tries to stop other people having fun in their own way. I could be wrong

arkle

No, you pretty much got it right.

It's usually used by those with a self-destructive bent, or more particularly those with a vested interest in exploiting those with a self destructuve bent, to characterise those trying to limit the societal damage as "fun police". To wit, against those trying to limit the plainly visible destruction caused by unrestricted access to alcohol, tobacco and gambling activity.

We seem to like smashing ourselves with vices and think it a virtue - our convict heritage

[ColinOldnCranky]

There's always some wowser trying to tell you how to live your life.

arkle

I love it when people use that wowser word. You know you've got them - they've got no real leg to stand on in either logic or evidence to support their position and have to resort to throwing epithets. Same as in the gambling debate

I'd put nanny state in the same class. Relatives of Godmin's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law)

[Capsyze]

There's always some wowser trying to tell you how to live your life.

arkle

I love it when people use that wowser word. You know you've got them - they've got no real leg to stand on in either logic or evidence to support their position and have to resort to throwing epithets. Same as in the gambling debate

I'd put nanny state in the same class. Relatives of Godmin's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law)

Actually, you've invoked Godwin's Law incorrectly.. Here, let me do it properly...

Wearing a helmet is a pointless excercise, forcing a class of citizen to wear something that cost money yet does nothing...

What next? It's like forcing the Jews to wear the Star of David..

There. Godwin's has been invoked.

[ldrcycles]

http://www.nt.gov.au/transport/ntroads/cycling/pdfs/BikeSafety.pdf

I think this should answer your question better than the last poster.

since it's the only state in Australia that doesn't have a mandatory helmet law for adult riders.
arkle

OK, i'm confused, i thought helmets were compulsory in every state. And the link lists under 'traffic infringements', 'riding without helmet securely fastened'. So are helmets mandatory in the territory or not?

And just as an aside, the link also lists 'riding bicycle incorrectly' as an infringement, what the heck does that mean? 'Dangerous' or 'Reckless' riding i could understand but 'incorrect'?