Australian Bicycle Regulations
- Experts butt heads on bike helmet laws
Amy Simmons, 17 August 2010, ABC News
The man behind the push to make bike helmets compulsory more than 20 years ago has hit back at a pair of academics from Sydney University who are now calling for the laws to be overturned.
Associate Professor Chris Rissel and Dr Alexander Voukelatos from the university's school of public health have looked at the number of cyclists admitted to hospital in New South Wales with cycling-related head injuries between 1989 - before helmets were mandatory - and 2008.
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New South Wales
- Changes to the NSW road rules 1 July 2008
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brochure - Podcast, ABC Central West NSW - "When is a bicycle no longer a bicycle?"
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When does a bicycle cease to be a bicycle? That's what we asked the RTA's Sally Tindall about in light of confusing regulations around registration of motorised bicycles and scooters.
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NSW Roads and Traffic Authority, (2008) "Mopeds and Power-assisted pedal cycles", Vehicle Standards Information 27, 4 July 2008
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To advise suppliers, owners and users of mopeds and power-assisted pedal cycles of the requiremnets of their construction, registration and use.
Victoria
- Victorian Road Rules for Cyclists
View PDF - Vicroads (2002) "Driving in Victoria: rules and responsibilities" – provides information on the main road rules and driver responsibilities. [PDF, 1.56MB, 104 pp.]
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Queensland
- Queensland Road Rules for Cyclists
Visit Site - Queensland State Government - Roads Rules: Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995, Transport Operations (Road Use Management—Road Rules) Regulation 1999, Reprinted as in force on 16 December 2005, Reprint No. 2F
View PDF - Queensland State Government - Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995, Traffic Regulation 1962, Reprinted as in force on 7 July 2006, Reprint No. 4J
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South Australia
- South Australian Road Rules for Cyclists
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Western Australia
- Western Australian Road Rules for Cyclists
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New Zealand
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The official New Zealand road code
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has launched a new and completely free resource to help cyclists keep safe on the roads.
The code will be particularly useful for people who are just learning about cycling on the road or those teaching someone else to ride. The NZTA is also encouraging more experienced cyclists to take advantage of the new resource to brush up on their knowledge of the road rules and safe cycling practices.
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International Bicycle Regulations
- New Canadian Study Claims Helmet Laws Don't Affect Cycling Ridership Numbers
Lloyd Alter, 12 August 2010, Canada: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
Canada's ten provinces have varying rules about bicycle helmets; some make them mandatory, some mandatory for those under 18 years old, and some with no legislation. It makes for an interesting study on The effects of provincial bicycle helmet legislation on helmet use and bicycle ridership in Canada.
Visit Site - Delaware Gov Signs Bill to Protect Cyclists and Pedestrians
Noah Kazis, 13 August 2010, StreetsBlog
The bill, modeled after an Oregon law, enhances the penalty for drivers convicted of careless or inattentive drivers who cause serious physical injury to cyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. The new law includes sentencing guidelines such as:
Visit Site - Should Bike Scofflaws Get Police Scrutiny?
April Streeter, 31 March 2010, USA: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
In Eugene, Oregon - though a much smaller city than Portland, it too is a bastion of bike riding - today, the Eugene Police Department is planning a traffic sting - what it calls a "Focused Enforcement Operation." The sting is in order to enforce the law...and presumably give out a lot of citations (Thanks, WebikeEugene!). These types of traffic enforcements aren't unusual, but for cyclists they inevitably raise a lot of issues, because while cars have their designated place on the road, and pedestrians are supposed to, on the sidewalk, in North America cyclists are living in a sort of limbo. Cyclists are expected to obey laws and observances rarely designed with their comfort and safety in mind, and with scant dedicated, separated roads and tracks. So just how much scrutiny (and tickets) should cyclists get?
Visit Site - Bikesafe: Bicycle Countermeasure Selection System
This report provides information on 50 engineering countermeasures or treatments, along with education and enforcement programs, that may be implemented to improve bicycle safety and mobility. Included in this version are 60 case studies that illustrate these concepts applied in practice in a number of communities throughout the United States.
Visit Site - Mionske: Vulnerable User Laws a First Step Toward True Traffic Justice
Brad Aaron, 8 February 2010, StreetsBlog-New York
In the second installment Visit Site of his two-part "traffic injustice" series (here's part one Visit Site ), cycling attorney Bob Mionske covers a lot of ground. While much of it will lead Streetsblog readers to nod in knowing agreement, what struck us is the way Mionske exposes how a transportation system so dominated by multi-ton vehicles has basically absolved drivers of responsibility when it comes to interactions with actual people.
Visit Site - Stop Means Stop: Slate on Cycling
Lloyd Alter, 21 October 2009, Canada: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
Slate's Christopher Beam asks why cyclists tend to break the law and ignore stop signs. He talks to Andy Thornley of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, who happens to agree with me:
Visit Site - Welcome to the World Health Organization Helmet Initiative
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The World Health Organization Helmet Initiative promotes the use of helmets as a strategy for preventing head injuries caused by bicycle or motorcycle crash or fall. - City of Chicago (USA) passes bicycle ordinance
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The City of Chicago passed the Bicycle Safety Ordinance, a new law that establishes fines for turning left or right in front of a bicyclist, passing a bicyclist with less than three feet of space, and opening a vehicle door into the path of a bicyclist. Fines range from $150 to $500 and go up to $500 if the violation results in a bicycle crash. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, in 2006 in Illinois, 24 bicyclists were killed and nearly 3,200 were injured due to a crash with a motor vehicle. The majority of these crashes happened in urban areas. Illinois Bicycle Rules of the Road brochure available for down load View PDF
International Blog - Cycling and the Law
- The International Cycling Law Association (ICLA)
Their mission is to educate global cycling companies (big and small) about the myriad of laws and legal issues affecting their business. The ICLA is dedicated to promoting the understanding, effective use of, and change of laws and regulations affecting the cycling industry Read more -
<Visit Site> - Cycling and the Law: Where Does Education Begin?
Sarah Goodyear, 6 May 2009, StreetsBlog: New York
Given the rising number of commuting and recreational cyclists in New York and elsewhere around the country, and the welter of conflicting laws in different states and municipalities, education of law enforcement (as well as drivers and cyclists) on cyclists' rights and responsibilities would seem to be an obvious area for police departments to focus on.
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Bike Helmets
- April Streeter, 14 May 2009, Yakkay Gives You at Least Five Reasons You Might Want to Wear a Helmet, Sweden TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation
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I know, I know. In spite of what we've said, the helmet debate will never be over - it is paper versus plastic all over again, except with the added fear factor of saving (or not) the contents of your precious brain if your head is involved in an accident. Whatever you decide to do helmet-wise, don't let it stop you from riding! Safety for cyclists increases when there are more of us out there cycling. So for city riding, why not at least consider these five reasons to wear? - Lloyd Alter, 13 May 2009, Andrew Sullivan at the Atlantic on Bicycle Helmets, or Lack Thereof, Canada: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
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So many people think helmets are ineffective, and they certainly didn't do much good in Star Wars. They also suggest that wearing helmets reduces the rate of ridership, but we covered that here, that is a discussion about bicycle helmet legislation, not bicycle helmets. If you don't want to wear one, fine. - April Streeter, 18 February 2009, Helmet Head Takes on New Meaning, or Another Way to Warm Up Winter Bike Commutes, Sweden TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation
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No matter what anyone says, it's impossible for the vast majority of humans to look good in a bike helmet. That why gorgeous adult Danes (children must wear helmets) tend to just say no!
It's nice to know that daring designers like Riding Pretty's Shelly Shroeder are out there finding ways other than plastic flowers and stickers to transform bicycle fashion. Shroeder's video is from last year, and is a prototype - since then she's done to-order helmet covers that harken back to the days when women riding bikes tended to swathe themselves head to toe to ride. Shroeder keeps coming up with new implementation of her helmet covers like the rain-proofing version above. She's also got a blog to talk about bicycle fashion and its lack. - Bonnie Alter, 16 May 2008, Beautiful Bike Helmets, UK: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation
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Beautiful and bicycle helmet seems like an oxymoron but here's proof that it doesn't have to be. With Bike to Work Days being celebrated, pretty cycling hats likes these prove there is no excuse not to wear one with pride in front of your fellow workers and bikers. They are designed by an eco-conscious Japanese-born designer who got fed up with looking terrible on her bike so she created her own collection of helmets that are funky and still meet all the safety requirements. The helmets are factory-made and decorated with carefully chosen feminine, delicate colours and have "diamond" trimmed chin straps. The designs are cleverly positioned on the back and on the left-hand side so drivers and pedestrians can admire you as you go. Helmets are available in a full range of lovely colours and there is a "designer" label on the back of each one.
