Sign the Petition for Helmet Law Reform
See who has signedJoin Freestyle Cyclists Inc
If you would like to be more involved, you can become a member of Freestyle Cyclists Inc, the not-for-profit incorporated governing body of Freestyle Cyclists. Membership costs $10 per year, and gets you an invite to our general meetings. Click here to join.
Real Safety
Bikes shouldn’t have to mix with heavy, fast traffic. Separate bikes from cars on busy roads and watch cycling become more and more popular as a way of getting about. In local streets, stop rat-running traffic – local roads are for local people not for short-cuts.
Helmet Laws Kill Cycling
Around one in five Australians cite helmet laws as the main reason they don’t ride a bike. Riding a bike is good for your health and saves the community money – that’s true whether or not you wear a helmet. The loss of health benefits from discouraging cycling alone outweighs any benefit from mandating helmets, and that’s before you factor in all the other benefits of cycling.
Crowdfunding court costs
Freestyle Cyclists and Upright Bicycle Riders of Australia are pleased to announce the launch of a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help raise money to cover court costs for anyone who takes a helmet fine to court.
https://www.gofundme.com/ssgcd9ns
Background:
In March 2014, Sue Abbott was stopped and fined by South Australian police, for not wearing a bicycle helmet in Adelaide, where Sue was attending the 2014 Velo-city world bicycle conference. After 20 months and six court appearances, Sue was found guilty and penalised a total of $560 – plus handed a criminal conviction. Not only is this an excessive penalty – no one should have a criminal record just for doing something that 98% of the world are free to enjoy doing.
All money raised will go to victims of the helmet law (like Sue Abbott) who challenge their fines in Court and to pressure Australian Parliaments to change the law. Where ever you are in the world, if you value cycling and the freedom it brings, we’d really appreciate your help – no matter how big or small.
Currently the fund has $961 available, and we encourage anyone in Australia who is fined for not wearing a helmet to take their case to court. The fund will pay the court directly for you. Our last payment was on 15 March 2017 to a NSW court for $382 which included a fine, court costs and “victims of crime” levy. We are still wondering who the victim was in this case.
You can donate to the fund at gofundme.
Help us make bicycle riding normal in Australia again. Thank you for your support.
Public Screening: Documentary
Saturday September 2nd 2017, “the Cycle of Reform” shows at 33 Saxon Street, Brunswick, Victoria 3056.
The night will start with a bike ride to the event starting from the Carlton Gardens at the bottom of Canning Street at 6pm where you can ride and talk with some of the people interviewed in the film.
Food with vegetarian options will be available for purchase along with drinks provided by Temple Brewing Company, the makers of Bicycle Beer.
There is a nominal fee to cover the costs of ProjectorBike operations in the ticket price of only $5 + a booking fee of $1.34 per ticket to cover costs.
If you can’t make it on Saturday, the documentary is available for viewing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGsM-XIuGwo
Made by Geoff McLeod of Sputnik Films it interviews a range of people to explore the damage being done in Australia by mandatory bicycle helmet laws.
Latest Post
New South Wales - higher fines, greater injury risk
- This is a guest post by Chris Gillham, who maintains http://www.cycle-helmets.com/, a rich repository of facts and statistics on Australia’s helmet law disaster. A full twelve months have passed since higher cyclist penalties were introduced in New South Wales including quadrupling the helmet fine to $319 on 1 March 2016. According to the Sydney Morning Herald: • Cyclist ...more
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This is a guest post by Chris Gillham, who maintains http://www.cycle-helmets.com/, a rich repository of facts and statistics on Australia’s helmet law disaster. A full twelve months have passed since higher...
Our new documentary is available for viewing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGsM-XIuGwo Made by Geoff McLeod of Sputnik Films it interviews a range of people to explore the damage being done in Australia by...
The Outdoor Industry Association in the US recently published its 2016 report with estimates of outdoor recreation participation in the US in 2015. The release is reported at cycle-helmets.com, which previously displayed...
Update on progress towards ACT’s review of their helmet law. Click on the image below to read the letter from Shane Rattenbury MLA. Sign up to support helmet law reform name:...