Police ram Nelson cyclist

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I see in the efficiency of Wellington that this has been loaded twice...

Anyway, Richard B and I are going put this on the table at the next Road Safe Nelson Bays meeting - should be interesting.

A

Please do

This one law causes me a massive amount of grief.

I hate having that piece of medieval torture equipment strapped on my head, and won't wear it. Even contemplating strapping my head into it gives me a headache ! So I ride around, awaiting the inevitable tap on the shoulder from someone intending to lighten my pocket, for my own good of course.

Its the single biggest thing which reduces the utilty and enjoyment of my cycling.

The cycle helmet law must be reviewed, rescinded and repealed.
The fear of being apprehended and fined by police for not complying with this imposition ( that over 100 million cyclists in the European Union would never tolerate) is just one of the many things keeping many New Zealanders from using what is arguably the most efficient and effective means of transport in our cities.

Riders of bicycles who choose not to wear a helmet should never be treated as criminals and the individuals working in the New Zealand police force should not be encumbered by having to enforce a law that is patently unnecessary, unreasonable and unpopular.

We should be doing everything within our power to
encourage more people to ride bicycles,not persecuting those who are making the change.

http://urbanbicycles.googlepages.com/issues

Alan Preston in Christchurch
http://urbanbicycles.googlepages.com/
Promoting urban appropriate utility bicycles and utility cycling in New Zealand

It looks like the police officer is going to stand trial on assault charges for this:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/2949103/Cyclist-pepper-sprayed-for...

Some will remember that when this story first broke there was a call for CAN to issue a PR calling the alleged Police action unacceptable - which wasn't what the Police themselves were saying at the time.

On one side people argued that mounting the pavement and ramming a cyclist is simply unacceptable given the alleged infringement (not crime) - the cyclist was sans helmet.

Others felt that as the issue involved helmets CAN should stay quiet.

Guess what CAN did.

Thankfully it seems the Courts have taken the issue more seriously.

(Of course we've yet to discover who, if anybody, is guilty of anything.)

CAN/BNB (the local advocacy group) brought this matter up at the Road Safe Nelson Bays meeting in March this year. As the matter was going before the court, RSNB nor the Police could discuss this matter. The court case has commenced and is being reported.

Whether or not anyone agrees or disagrees regarding helmet wearing; currently, the LAW REQUIRES US ALL TO WEAR HELMETS while riding on the road unless we have an exemption.

Dear npcycle, are you a financial member of CAN and if so, would you be interested in getting further involved?

Please email me directly: annef@can.org.nz

Anne FitzSimon
CAN Exec
BNB Exec
Nelson