Wondering if anyone else has had this problem.
Years ago when bike helmet laws came in I started wearing one and started having a bit of a health problem. Doctor told me I had styrene oxides present in my blood causing an alergic reaction. Only styrene I was exposed to was the helmet.
Went looking for a helmet in another material and found out from standards Australia that all aproved helmets are styrene. Conducted a bit of research and discovered that poly-styrene is not the harmless substance we might think it is.
The USA government listed it as a carcinogenic substance in June this year.
I thought blow that and kept riding with no helmet like I'd been doing successfully for over 30 years. Now after years of police harassment and multiple court cases(All dismissed) I am wearing a protec skate helmet and its still not good enough for them and I am now committed to trial for a bike helmet infringent.
The recources consumed by SA police chasing me through the courts for a $50 fine may be better dedicated to actual crime.
i wear my protec all the time on my treadly and no probs with the cops. hard to believe why they would hassle you,unless you give them alot off crap and they want to give you a hard time.
No I never give them any crap. most of the time when I explain the situation they're happy for me to go. This time it was a probationary contable and it was her first "job". she had no idea at all on proper procedure.
something does sound right . seems to me a doctors letter stating the styrene allergy should make things go away
It does suck that in SA you can't get an exemption letter for helmets due to medical reasons.
But why keep getting on a bike and getting stopped by the coppers?
BTW as to the last line, the coppers are not chasing you thru the courts, you elected to plead not guilty to the fine, as is your right. The court in this case is provided for your benefit, not for the coppers to 'chase you'.
Maybe you could tell us what real crime is and which offences the police should ignore? If they are strapped for resources one day they could ignore burglary or stealing and just investigate rapes and murders? Same as ignoring helmets as it is lower end stuff
Just to clarify, I carry with me the doctors certificate, the letter from the standards association stating that all hemets are styrene and also the court dismisal papers, and I wear the protec most of the time. this has been fine with all the police officers I met in the last 6 years exept one. Trouble is I met up with a moron who should not have been in the uniform.
The reason I said they are chasing me in court is because I have already had a decision made in my favour. I have been speaking with the police prosecutor and he does't want to go ahead with it. nowadays he is obligated to prosecute everything that crosses his desk, no matter how ridiculous. The magistrate rebuked him quite severely in the first case for wasting the courts time.
I have been riding a pushbike everyday I have spent on land since I was 5 and I refuse to let this right be taken away. I didn't make this post to complain about my treatment from the law, I'm doing OK so far with that. I was trying to find out if anyong else is concerned with the health implications. Google "polystyrene human health" and see what comes up. I'm not going to rave on with scientific terms, there are some seriously nasty chemicals we get exposed to these days. That smell when you hop in a new car thats been in the sun, a veritable cocktail of toxic compounds.
Testicular cancer was practically unheard of 30 or 40 years ago and now its begining to loom as a common form of this disease. There are plenty of studies lincking it to chemicals released in various types of plastic but its not in the headlines. Just consider asbestos. They knew in the 60's how dangerous it was, nothing got done for 50 years untill there was a body count.
bicycle helmet law - a load of crock
fair enough, if you share roads with vehicles, you should wear one. In all other situations it should be totally optional.
You are way more likely to hurt your head skating or even riding a scooter, yet one is not obliged to wear helmet by law with those activities.
Do you drive a car?.....don't ride the bike if it's such a problem.
Why do people assume if you can't abide by the laws get an exemption...
If you can't abide by the laws don't do it!!!!
Take a bus, walk, drive, go as a passenger etc. Or should we all get exemptions for the laws we don't want to conform to?
I was the 1st in our town (apparently) to get nabbed for not wearing a helmet, about 22 years ago (wow, I am that old). I was riding to footy training on the other side of town, and got pulled up about 20m from the ground. As I was young & didn't know any better, and also was working at the time (so had a bit of cash on me), I offered to pay the fine then & there (grabbed the $20 from my wallet & extended my arm)...wrong move! The cop jumped out of the car, and stood over me with a booming voice threatening that I could get thrown in jail for offering money to a policeman etc...
Scared the sheets out of me, and since then, when riding my pushie, I've always worn a helmet.
^^^ As far as I am aware helmet laws are only enforceable on roads and footpaths, both normally have a high risk of vehicle interaction (yeah some footpaths run through parks and stuff I know).
Got a mate who was riding home from work four few months ago, popped the front wheel up a kerb, stuffed it up somehow (God only knows how) and landed on his head, he ended up in a medically induced coma. A I said in another thread, bad stuff happens to people everyday that they thought would never happen to them.
edit: for the record I rode home on my pushie last night after a few beers without a helmet, I reserve the right to contradict myself every day 
Most head injuries are suffered by motorists so the greatest reduction in head injuries would be made by requiring motorists to wear helmets.
Logic won't come into it though.
There appears to be some conflicting evidence as to the efficacy of using helmets as a way to lower brain injury in cyclists. some public health researchers have suggested that mandatory helmet laws have an adverse reaction on overall public health.
For example, people may be less inclined to use a bike for general use around metro areas (e.g. shopping, visiting friends etc) if they have to strap on a helmet every time they want to use the bike.
Also, potential cyclists may be put off by having to wear a helmet, especially considering a lot of riding takes place on cycle paths, around rivers, along the coast etc.
in the mean time, i refuse to wear a helmet when riding around the river etc. if i get caught, i'll suffer the consequences.
i was riding along the water on a cycle path and was having a great perve at some lovely ladies....then where in the f did that bollard come from as i was shot gunned into the ground. glad i had my brain bucket on
plus if it is to much hard work to strap a helmut on, i dont think those people would have the energy to ride a bike anyway
Ive seen heaps of people around with cable ties tied around the tops of their bike helments with the ends sticking up! 
Is this a new trend that Ive missed here?!? 
I love seeing people riding their bikes with the helmet hanging on the handlebars; I keep waiting to see them fall off their bike.
plus if it is to much hard work to strap a helmut on, i dont think those people would have the energy to ride a bike anyway
How many of you guys here have skateboard without a helmet when cruising the streets or bombing hills?
Common sense needs to prevail here. I live uphill from town. Bush tracks and laneways most of the way to town.
Going to town downhill and flat out, protec helmet on, of course.
riding back up hill at a brisk walking pace, sweating my guts out, helmet on handle bars. low risk.
A little statistic. I SA when the law came in in '95 the government proudly boasted that in the year after there was a 40% reduction in head trauma from bike accidents. At the same time, Bicycle shops on average suffered a loss of 60% of business. It could be claimed that in actual fact that head trauma increaced 20%.
This could be explained by what is known as sub-concience complacency. you put on a helmet and feel safer so are less carefull.
I'm only trying to make a point here. If your on the road at high speed on a bike you definately need protection. If your just mucking around in your front yard your probably better off not exposing yourself to the chemicals in the helmet.
That was the debate I was trying to create. What do you think of the Nuro-toxins we get exposed to in modern life?
. so yeh i wear one all the time now. might be uncool,but hey i got thick skin and a hot chick so i dont care about the names
i will tell anyone now..you got two heads,take care off both them
