Those on the sharp end of cycling injuries want to keep the laws, writes Steve Dow.
A COUPLE of times a month, the neurosurgeon Jeffrey Rosenfeld operates on a cyclist who has suffered a serious head injury. They've almost always been wearing a helmet, removed by paramedics who bring it into the hospital. The helmet is often "crushed and messed up".
In 46 years of bike riding, Sue Abbott has never worn a helmet. So when the highway patrol pulled her over in country Scone and fined her for a no-helmet offence, she decided to fight.
The 50-year old mother of four has never been in trouble with the law, has never fallen from her bike, and thought it ridiculous she could not ride at 15km/h on a dedicated cycleway with an uncovered head.
A police video of the incident last year records the sergeant surmising ''it's a hair thing'', a view shared by many people when they first meet her.
Britain is agog over Conservative leader David Cameron riding without a bicycle helmet. According to This is London,