nearly got fined!!

General Unicycling Discussions
#1

In article <4u99ir$svt@grivel.une.edu.au>, shone@neumann.une.edu.au says…
>
>
>Hello everybody. Long time no see - or something like that.
>
>Any way, last night I decided to go for a ride on my bicycle, and at the last
>minute I changed my mind and went on my unicycle.
>
>As soon as I got on to the street and crossed the intersection a police car
>went passed. They sought of slowed down a bit and I think they thought about
>fining me, but the just made the right hand corner and kept going. Well, to be
>precise, took off really really fast.
>
>I think it is because I was on my unicycle that they didn’t fine me for riding
>with no lights. The same reason they don’t fine me for riding in the mall, and
>riding with no helmet on.
>
>cheers
>
>Scott

Hi Scott,

You’ll have to show me your very own 3 ball trick when I’m back in Armidale in
september (if you’re in town).

Anyway, I ride my uni about town while walking the dog. I never wear a helmet.
Several times the police have driven past and looked at me, but I’ve not been
fined or cautioned.

Does anybody know the legal situation regarding helmets and unicycles in
Australia? (helmets are compulsory on bicycles) Email me if you know, I may not
read this group for a while.

Daniel Collins, daniel@lisp.com.au http://lisp.com.au/~daniel/ I’d rather be
juggling than doing my programming assignments…

#2

Re: nearly got fined!!

I asked at several police stations here with different results. Most said what
is a unicycle :slight_smile: but some said yes you can ride it with a helmet, no you can’t
ride it anywhere, yes you can ride it without a helmet etc.

Who would be the best person to ask to find a real answer.

Chris.

PS How come when I was learning to juggle/unicycle a few years ago in
Armidale there was nobody there, and now I’ve left every man and his dog
is juggling there :slight_smile:

#3

Re: nearly got fined!!

On Thu, 15 Aug 1996, Chris Fiddyment wrote:

> I asked at several police stations here with different results. Most said what
> is a unicycle :slight_smile: but some said yes you can ride it with a helmet, no you
> can’t ride it anywhere, yes you can ride it without a helmet etc.
>
> Who would be the best person to ask to find a real answer.

Well, I never wear a helmet, and once when I was riding to uni on my uni, I rode
past a policeman who was directing traffic around a roadworks. I simply said
“G’day” as I went past and he smiled and waved.

A buddy of mine had just managed to learn to ride a reasonable distance when he
ended up riding past a local police station. A policeman was outside so he
dismounted and asked if it were legal to ride it without a helmet, to which the
policeman replied, “No it is not”. He didn’t book him though, and he rode off
anyway. :slight_smile:

I guess it all depends on how nasty the officer is, and also if they’ve actually
got over the fact that you’re actually riding a unicycle and that there are laws
that they should be thinking about enforcing. :wink:

Cheers, Steve. DISCLAIMER: Any opinions expressed here are those of the
author only.

#4

Re: nearly got fined!!

>I asked at several police stations here with different results. Most said what
>is a unicycle :slight_smile: but some said yes you can ride it with a helmet, no
you
>can’t ride it anywhere, yes you can ride it without a helmet etc.

>Who would be the best person to ask to find a real answer.

>Chris.

This topic has got me going!

I spoke with Pedal Power (a lobby group for bicyclists here in Canberra, ACT)
and they suggested I contact the ACT Greens who had recently delved into the
world of bicycle legislation. I’m pretty sure the legislation would be similar
in NSW and other states.

I was informed that under the Traffic Act - where Bicycle is defined (unicycle
was not an option!) a bicycle includes a tricycle or ‘any other
contrivance’…a bit murky really. It could be argued by police that a
unicycle is another ‘contrivance’ of a bicycle - hmphh! (Thus making it illegal
to ride a unicycle on the road without a helmet. I understand the situtation
is different if you are riding on the footpath or bicycle path.) So it will
depend on where you yike, if you’re wearing a helmet or not as to whether it’s
legal or illegal!

I also recall a similar thread late last year sometime - see:

http://198.174.169.200/unicycling/hypermail/2670.html

Cheers

Glenn

<GlennJohnstone@auslig.gov.au>

PS. Where abouts are you located Chris??

I asked at several police stations here with different results. Most said what
is a unicycle :slight_smile: but some said yes you can ride it with a helmet, no you can’t
ride it anywhere, yes you can ride it without a helmet etc.

Who would be the best person to ask to find a real answer.

Chris.

How come when I was learning to juggle/unicycle a few years ago in
Armidale there was nobody there, and now I've left every man and his dog
is juggling there :-)
#5

Re: nearly got fined!!

In article <3213cc10.6042840@news.pacific.net.sg>, craig@pacific.net.sg says…
>daniel@lisp.com.au (Daniel Collins) wrote:
>>Does anybody know the legal situation regarding helmets and unicycles in
>>Australia? (helmets are compulsory on bicycles)
>
>Daniel, I don’t know the answer, but would suggest that there is no
>“Australian” legal situation, as all such laws are set by the states.
>Compulsory helmets on bicycles was never a uniform law, and there is enourmous
>confusion on inline skating on roads as it’s different from state to state.
>Cheers, Craig

A few years back, I was riding down the road when some bonehead whipped open his
car door with me right beside it, passing. Needless, to say, I was push into the
road, where my tire slammed into a trolley track groove, the bike went down, and
I cracked my head, momentarily stunned. Meanwhile, my head was right in the path
of an oncoming car tire, so I quickly lifted head and shoulders just in time to
feel the side of the car brush my jacket. I was unharmed except for a walnut
sized lump on my temple, and a few scratches.

I went out and bought a helmet, and have worn one since, for cycling,
climbing, skating, and if ever I take my kayak into the surf to play I will
wear a helmet for that. Perhaps it is the realization that had I been too
stunned to react, or been knocked out and unable to react, I would have been a
pancake head, long since buried. It doesn’t matter that the cause would have
been some nimrod in his car.

I also had a sportscar fool knock me down on my motorcycle years ago, and
were it not for a full face helmet, I would not have walked away
unscathed (almost…had some pulled muscles). The helmet was mincemeat,
but my head was fine.

At this point, the laws are not important. It’s too easy to fracture a skull or
get a concussion or worse, and helmets are a much better way to spend my money
than brain injury recovery wards. Seems no matter how carefull I am, there is
always the guy above who kicks stones down on everyone, or the clown who doesn’t
look before opening his door, or the rouge pothold masquarading as a shallow
puddle (ouch!).

I do a lot of activities associated with risks, but there are just some risks
that are not worth it, like head injury. Cycling indoors without a helmet may be
ok, but outdoors is a lot more uncontrolled; like the drunk who drove into a
pole outside our house a few weeks ago, on a nice clear day. Nearly clipped the
neighbor kids on their tricycles (the pole stopped him).

Anyway, that’s my thought on helmets; just part of safety gear for a lot of
sports. I’m just not as cavalier and reckless as when I was 18 or 20; funny
thing is, I’m doing more stuff now. Go figure.

~Leander overfall@ixl.net

#6

Re: nearly got fined!!

daniel@lisp.com.au (Daniel Collins) wrote:

>Does anybody know the legal situation regarding helmets and unicycles in
>Australia? (helmets are compulsory on bicycles)

Daniel, I don’t know the answer, but would suggest that there is no “Australian”
legal situation, as all such laws are set by the states. Compulsory helmets on
bicycles was never a uniform law, and there is enourmous confusion on inline
skating on roads as it’s different from state to state.

Cheers, Craig

#7

Re: nearly got fined!!

In <3214E5D2@mailgate> “Johnstone, Glenn” <GlennJohns@auslig.gov.au> writes:
>
>
>
>I was informed that under the Traffic Act - where Bicycle is defined (unicycle
>was not an option!) a bicycle includes a tricycle or 'any
other
>contrivance’…a bit murky really. It could be argued by police
that a
>unicycle is another ‘contrivance’ of a bicycle - hmphh! (Thus making
it
>illegal to ride a unicycle on the road without a helmet. I
understand the
>situtation is different if you are riding on the footpath or bicycle
path.)
> So it will depend on where you yike, if you’re wearing a helmet or
not as
>to whether it’s legal or illegal!
>
>I also recall a similar thread late last year sometime - see:
>
>http://198.174.169.200/unicycling/hypermail/2670.html
>
I’ve done a bit of research on the Internet, and found a www.lawcrawler.com
which helps you find legal stuff in the USA. In New Jersey (where I live),
from what I can tell, there aren’t any laws concerning unicycling; in what I
found, the definition used for both “vehicle” and “bicycle” more than
obviously excluded unicycles. I don’t know whether the helmet law for
bicycles applies to unicycles, but it doesn’t really matter since in NJ, one
only has to wear a helmet until age 14. I disagree with this, since it is
always a good idea to wear a helmet, regardless of age or skill. No matter
how good a unicyclist you are, or how less likely you are to fall on your
head than if you were on a bicycle, you have the exact same chance as the
next guy of getting hit by a car (or, as someone else said in a previous
message, a car door). Better safe than sorry.

-DAN Wolfe ^^^

#8

Re: nearly got fined!!

In article <MPLANET.32163ef6overfall98968d@newshost.ixl.net>,
overfall@ixl.net says…

>A few years back, I was riding down the road when some bonehead whipped open
>his car door with me right beside it, passing. Needless, to say, I was push
>into the road, where my tire slammed into a trolley track groove, the bike went
>down, and I cracked my head, momentarily stunned. Meanwhile, my head was right
>in the path of an oncoming car tire, so I quickly lifted head and shoulders
>just in time to feel the side of the car brush my jacket. I was unharmed except
>for a walnut sized lump on my temple, and a few scratches.
[snip]

Ouch!!!

OK, I’m convinced. I’ll start wearing my helmet on the uni now. Funny, I always
wore a helmet on my bicycle even before they were compulsory, but on the uni I
just felt a bit silly wearing one. But I guess riding the uni looks so silly, a
helmet won’t make much difference.

>~Leander overfall@ixl.net

–
Daniel Collins, daniel@lisp.com.au http://lisp.com.au/~daniel/ I’d rather be
juggling than doing my programming assignments…

PS: Thanks to all the lunicyclists who emailed me a response.

#9

Re: nearly got fined!!

Johnstone, Glenn (GlennJohns@auslig.gov.au) wrote:

~ I was informed that under the Traffic Act - where Bicycle is defined ~
(unicycle was not an option!) a bicycle includes a tricycle or ‘any other ~
contrivance’…a bit murky really. It could be argued by police that a ~
unicycle is another ‘contrivance’ of a bicycle - hmphh! (Thus making it ~
illegal to ride a unicycle on the road without a helmet. I understand the ~
situtation is different if you are riding on the footpath or bicycle path.) ~ So
it will depend on where you yike, if you’re wearing a helmet or not as ~ to
whether it’s legal or illegal!

In my dictionary, a Unicycle is an acrobat’s prop, so it’s maybe worth looking
up whether it is legal to perform acrobatic feats on the public byways.

Just a thought… :slight_smile:

–
Steve Carter, shc103@york.ac.uk, http://www.york.ac.uk/~shc103

The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily my own let alone those of

the University.

#10

Re: nearly got fined!!

In an article dated Mon, 19 Aug 1996 23:50:52, Daniel Collins
<daniel@lisp.com.au> writes
>In article <MPLANET.32163ef6overfall98968d@newshost.ixl.net>,
overfall@ixl.net
>says…
>
>>A few years back, I was riding down the road when some bonehead
whipped
>>open his car door with me right beside it, passing. Needless, to say,
I

I follow the rules I learnt when taking my cycling proficiency test way back in
82, “When over taking parked cars you should be a car doors distance away from
the car” :-p Don’t be embarrassed if you have a Queue of cars having to move at
the speed you are moving, they can always over take in a minute.

>>was push into the road, where my tire slammed into a trolley track
[frightening snip!]

>Ouch!!!
>
>OK, I’m convinced. I’ll start wearing my helmet on the uni now. Funny, I always
>wore a helmet on my bicycle even before they were
Me too.

>compulsory, but on the uni I just felt a bit silly wearing one. But I guess
>riding the uni looks so silly, a helmet won’t make much difference.
I think that’s a really good point. Now you’ve made me feel worried that in my
extremely normal/casual clothes I’m actually out of place when riding!

Damion

–
Damion Yates - Damion@myates.demon.co.uk homepage: http://www.bath.ac.uk/~exxdmy
(this is pants)