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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he is considering requiring bicyclists to be licensed and registered like automobile drivers currently are.
According to a report in the New York Daily News on Wednesday, the mayor also wants to expand the city's safety regulations, which already have won it a nanny-state reputation, to include requiring Citi Bike renters to wear helmets.
Mr. de Blasio called the idea of forcing cyclists to have licenses and registration a "valid discussion," the Daily News reported, and added that he also plans a crackdown on cyclists who break traffic laws.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/sep/4/bill-de-blasio-eyes-licenses-bike-riders/
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Bill De Blasio Eyes License Requirement for Bike Riders
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This end up.
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @01:11PM (19 children)
I bicycle context, some studies show that wearing helmet may reduce serious head injures up to 70%. On the other hand, other studies show that some people wearing helmets are prone to suffer more serius accidents due to a false sense of protection by overestimating helmet protective performance.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday September 06 2019, @01:17PM (11 children)
Here's a real helmet paradox for you: in countries where people cycle en masse (Netherlands, Denmark...), nobody wears a helmet and nobody dies. How's that possible?
Hint: it's not a paradox. The need for a helmet stems from trying to cycle in an intensely bicycle-unfriendly country.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Friday September 06 2019, @01:36PM
The need for a helmet stems from trying to cycle in an intensely bicycle-unfriendly country.
The need for a helmet stems from trying to cycle in an intensely unfriendly and angry country where vehicles are used as weapons.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @01:40PM (9 children)
No, the need for a helmet stems from the fact that falling over is dangerous. Literally just falling over and hitting a curb is enough to cause serious brain damage.
People have an incredibly unrealistic view of the risks of sucking. And assuming that what seems to be ok there is ok is foolish. They also have healthcare to cover things if something happens.
(Score: 2) by helel on Friday September 06 2019, @02:14PM (6 children)
How, precisely, does one come to fall over and hit the curb? From my observations even the average four year old will land on their feet after a bicycle/bicycle crash.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @02:24PM
Bike riding is more dangerous than riding in a car even in the Netherlands:
https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2018/04/25/more-cycling-fatalities-than-deaths-in-cars/ [wordpress.com]
So that is 1.18 deaths per 100k pop.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @03:26PM (2 children)
I had a cyclist in those stupid shoes fall in front of my car because he couldn't get free in time. Our you hit a bad patch of pavement and get tossed over. Or you get your tire caught in a groove and flipped. It's not hard to fall off a bike if you're traveling at low speeds. A typical biking head is similar to a typical motorcycling had injury when folks are wreaking similar gear. The difference is that cyclists don't typically wear appropriate gear.
The fact is that many of the dangers that cyclists face are a direct result of their ignorance about how to manage their risks.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 07 2019, @12:08AM (1 child)
Ignoring the typos, you've completely dismissed mass and momentum. The typical bicyclist doesn't pedal anywhere near 70 mph. And, when he falls, his bicycle doesn't become a life threatening projectile, either. There are no "good" falls from either a bicycle or a motorcycle, but a bicycle fall or crash is much more survivable than a motorcycle crash. When I see bicyclists wearing full armor, and full face DOT approved helmets, I may give the idea another thought. Or, I may just dismiss those bicyclists as idiots. My Tourmaster rain pants alone makes a skid down the road on your ass more survivable than anything I've ever seen bicyclists wearing.
Among the testimonials I've read, was a motorcycle cop who attributes his survival of a bad crash to Tourmaster's armor and rain gear. He and his vehicle parted ways, and he continued down the highway for a couple hundred yards, got up, and walked away from the crash. Typical bicycle crash, you might skid down the road ten or fifteen yards.
https://www.tourmaster.com/ [tourmaster.com]
Since you mentioned shoes specifically, check out what the well-dressed motorcyclist puts on his feet - https://www.tourmaster.com/footwear [tourmaster.com]
Hmmm - it seems that Tourmaster has discontinued it's police uniform line. That was some truly high quality armor! Here's a Sentinel rain jacket, apparently old stock - https://www.intapol.com/police-motorcycle-jackets-rainwear/tourmaster-sentinel-rain-jacket-hi-viz-yellow/ [intapol.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 07 2019, @02:16AM
I haven't neglected that at all. It's simply not relevant in most crashes. The bike tips over and the head snacks on the ground. The only difference is how far the helmet slides.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @03:59PM
By hitting a patch of black ice on an early morning day in late fall and having your rear wheel slide out from under you suddenly, causing you to crack your head on the pavement.
I was awfully glad to be wearing a helmet and even then I had a concussion.
As to bicycle/bicycle (or anything else), I refer you to F=MA and A is dictated by P=MV in a crash. Or any number of bicycle race crash videos where they certainly do not land on their feet.
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday September 06 2019, @07:48PM
I saw a six-year-old pedal into a corner going too fast (on a dedicated bike path), and the inside pedal hit the concrete. This lifted the back tire off the ground long enough for the bike to slide out from under her. Her head hit the ground hard; she did not land on her feet.
But perhaps to your point, there was no curb involved, so no big deal.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Friday September 06 2019, @04:26PM (1 child)
No bicycle required. Life has only one eventual outcome...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @05:48PM
Normal people will catch themselves without hitting their head. Usually when that happens from standing, it's because of inebriation or neurological problems. Most other people might break their wrist, but they won't hit their head.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @01:34PM (4 children)
The problem is that the helmets most cyclists wear are known to be useless. Hits to the crown of the head are rare compared with the sides or front.
The issue is that cyclists don't take responsibility for the things they can, like actually knowing the rules of the road. Licensing is more or less going to happen because of the recklessness abs irresponsibility of some elements of the community.
While we're at it, it's time to require that they carry insurance and have some sort of a license plate to help identify them when they cause crashes.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @02:12PM (3 children)
Also require the police to treat bike theft the same as auto theft.
20years for steeling a bicycle if your over 18. Under 18 gets you 2 years working for the local soup kitchen.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @04:29PM (2 children)
Sorry, cost to replace a car is 50 times greater than a bicycle. Thus, the harsher punishment.
You don't get to throw somebody in jail for stealing your teddybear you've had since childhood, either. It's based on cost of replacement.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @11:22PM (1 child)
Have you priced good bicycles? Not Wall-E-World. We sold many bikes in the $5k range all the time. About once every two years a $15k to $30k bike would sell. Cops don't care how much it cost. They just want to take a report and go eat dinner.
#lockupbicyclethieves
Stealing bicycles is the way to go if your a career criminal.
eBay, Craigslist, and many others are your fence.
Tear down is easy and parts are good prices on ebay.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday September 06 2019, @11:36PM
Well, that problem won't get solved anytime soon. I guess buying good bicycles is a bad idea.
Back to Wally Mart it is. [gearjunkie.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @02:51PM (1 child)
What false sense of protection? I'd landed on my head and shrugged it off so many times because of my helmet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @04:03PM
I've fallen off a bike literally twice in 10 years. If you are falling off "so many times" then you are doing it wrong.