Helmets for Skateboarders in Australia

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Captain_Morg said..


What do you think

I think no.

However for consistency with mandatory bicycle helmets, yes and yes to scooters, cars, when climbing a ladders, when walking across wet surfaces, while drinking booze,all contact sport, just everything really and so on.

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Mark _australia said...
I think no, as it is banned on the street (At least in WA)...... so it is not the same as riding a bicycle.

Not banned on the street only major roads with lines on them. Fine on backstreets.

Big no to helmets being law.

The sub sets that really need them generally wear them already... downhill/hardcore/distance/etc.

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hilly said..

Mark _australia said...

I think no, as it is banned on the street (At least in WA)...... so it is not the same as riding a bicycle.

Not banned on the street only major roads with lines on them. Fine on backstreets.

Big no to helmets being law.

I know you can ride in residential streets, but my point is they cannot be considered the same due to the fact a bike can be ridden anywhere (except a freeway).
There are already laws to protect skaters from themselves so a helmet one could be considered much less relevant than one for bikes.


Youngbull, I care - *if only* as my taxes go towards paying for the care of those who choose not to wear one.
I gather you mean seatbelts too.....?

I can assure you your government wastes you taxes well before it will help a kid with a head knock. On new legislation to enforce all skateboarders wear helmets, does anyone have an idea on the large quantities of cash we spend on rubbish...really I'd like to know?

I have private health cover so am I allowed to hurt myself, please.

Would you rather (similar to Dunko's reply) your taxes go to policing/implementing policies to regulate new laws for a helmet. Now that's a great way to waste your ever growing taxes. Not to mention every new law/policy is partially outsourced (local-private business). Once again more money more taxes being creatively wasted

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youngbull said..

100% no way. Things of this nature including motorbikes,scooters, pushbikes should be your choice like the states.
If your dumb enough not to wear one blah blah blah..

Nope. The law doesn't just protect the riders who decide.

The unfortunate thing is that those tards who won't wear helmets don't fall off and die peacefully and cheaply. Waste of resources... bad enough that thongs/flip-flops/crocs, t-shirts and shorts are considered riding gear.

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Rex said..
Out of interest, how do you feel about helmets for car drivers? Your taxes go towards those head injuries from vehicle accidents also.

Then by that logic we must be all for helmets on pedestrians and kids in playgrounds?
Those who own knives must, by law, wear a chainmail glove like abbatoir workers do?

I was pointing out the dissimilar nature of skaters vs bike riders. Not that we must go to ridiculous lengths drawing similarities.

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Mark _australia said..

Rex said..

Mark _australia said..

hilly said..

Mark _australia said...



I think no, as it is banned on the street (At least in WA)...... so it is not the same as riding a bicycle.

Not banned on the street only major roads with lines on them. Fine on backstreets.



Big no to helmets being law.

I know you can ride in residential streets, but my point is they cannot be considered the same due to the fact a bike can be ridden anywhere (except a freeway).

There are already laws to protect skaters from themselves so a helmet one could be considered much less relevant than one for bikes.





Youngbull, I care - *if only* as my taxes go towards paying for the care of those who choose not to wear one.

I gather you mean seatbelts too.....?

Out of interest, how do you feel about helmets for car drivers? Your taxes go towards those head injuries from vehicle accidents also.

Then by that logic we must be all for helmets on pedestrians and kids in playgrounds?
Those who own knives must, by law, wear a chainmail glove like abbatoir workers do?

I was pointing out the dissimilar nature of skaters vs bike riders. Not that we must go to ridiculous lengths drawing similarities.

You said "I care - *if only* as my taxes go towards paying for the care of those who choose not to wear one"

Where do you draw the line then? There is a lack of consistency behind the logic of wanting to force helmets on people to reduce the burden of head trauma.

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Rex said..

Mark _australia said..

You said "I care - *if only* as my taxes go towards paying for the care of those who choose not to wear one"

Where do you draw the line then? There is a lack of consistency behind the logic of wanting to force helmets on people to reduce the burden of head trauma.

I think you missed something. I was responding to Youngbull who said "100% no way. Things of this nature including motorbikes,scooters, pushbikes should be your choice like the states.
If your dumb enough not to wear one blah blah blah.."

I asserted that they are NOT all the same as there is already laws governing skaters, who are different to bikes.
My comment about seatbelts was obviously as he made it sound like every category of road/vehicle use should have absolute choice

Put simply - CARS are allowed on roads but u have to wear seatbelts. BIKES are allowed but you have to wear a helmet..
SKATEBOARDS are not allowed except on little residential streets so have no other restriction. There is no lack of consistency and the line is already drawn.

It makes no sense to me why we should protect others stupidity so much or even care so much. Someone placing themselves in harms way in no responsibility of anyone. Yes my comments are ruthless and poor in the sense the other people affected by someones misfortune but it is the truth.

I was not born to nanny a clown who chooses to do something silly/outlandish or pay for his/her stupidity but we are all being forced to.
BTW I have worn helmets and seatbelts my whole life I just don't agree with people who enforce and fine you for not following their agenda, its logical to always play safe.

Helmet obsessives, please note that helmets only make a small change to the outcome of an accident where you land on your head.
Last week in Sydney a law abiding responsible cyclist got killed from head injuries. He crashed through being too competitive in commuter traffic. ie a group of 4 or 5 lycra clad execs riding to work along a main road. A car slowed in front, he went round it without due care and got bumped into oncoming traffic.
The previous week, a 15 year old got killed not wearing a helmet. He rode off carelessly when the cops were after him for no helmet. It is fair to say that helmet laws caused that death. He would have had no reason to avoid the cops if he wasn't afraid of being ticketed for the lack of helmet. No chase...no crash.
As for your skateboards, helmets are a bit ridiculous. The kids on board have better balance and coordination than I do. Except when they are seriously trying to set downhill speed records they are travelling well below running speed. When they come off, they use their hands to break their fall. Which means abrasions and the odd broken wrist.

Is there a prize for The Most Consistent Opinions? What do I win?

I thought it was sugar, not salt...? Either way, it probably needs to be regulated, eh, fatty.

Small change? Nonsense. Brains are fairly easy to damage and it's tough to spot life-threatening injuries without medical attention... which you probably don't feel like you need so don't bother with. By way of analogy, you can still die wearing a seat belt but, like helmets, the severity of the accident can be dramatically reduced.

Should it be policed? Not by chasing people, IMO - same with speeding tickets.

If it saves 1 in 100 from brain damage... isn't it worth it?

Obvsiouly, you've never fallen off a skateboard

I'm a noob skater who's fairly obsessed at the moment.

After riding a borrowed longboard for a while, I put this tank together with some fairly unusual parts:
Landyachtz Spud, 90mm Flywheels, Carver C7 Trucks


I call it Tank because it weighs a fair bit but it rolls over anything without hesitation. Very low (with my 100kg flexing the board) so a good pusher.

Now I have one of these about to be shipped:
A Roe Racing Triton, with Don't Trip Poppys, Riptide bushes, and Big Zig wheels.
It's a dedicated LDP board, ie Long Distance Pumping. The board, trucks, wheels, and bushings are carefully set up for pumping. I'm hoping to be able to go for a night pump session 3-4 times per week for fun/fitness. I'll be logging with GPS. This is a fairly new sport in Oz, pretty unknown, but the yanks can hold steady averages between 20-35kph while pumping.



I haven't named this one yet...

To answer your question, Saltiest, I'll wear a helmet while doing LDP for sure.
For the rest, I'm just pushing/carving slowly around the neighborhood, haven't had an off yet where I couldn't just jump off & run it out.