A parliamentary inquiry into cycling issues in Queensland, Australia, recommends reforms to wind back the controversial helmet law that has harmed cycling for 20 years.
The report makes two key recommendations in regards to the helmet law:
Recommendation 15
The Committee recommends that the Minister for Transport and Main Roads:
- introduce a 24 month trial which exempts cyclists aged 16 years and over from the mandatory helmet road rule when riding in parks, on footpaths and shared/cycle paths and on roads with a speed limit of 60 km/hr or less and
- develop an evaluation strategy for the trial which includes baseline measurements and data collection (for example through the CityCycle Scheme) so that an assessment can be made which measures the effect and proves any benefits.
Recommendation 16
The Committee recommends that the Minister for Transport and Main Roads introduce an
exemption from Queensland road rule 256 for all cyclists age 16 years and over using a bicycle from a public or commercial bicycle hire scheme.
Recommendation 16 might save Brisbane’s bike share scheme from being an embarrassing failure. Few people are using it, leading to calls for it to be wound back to stop the financial drain.
The recommendations have been well received in the media, with The Courier editorial writing:
The proposed changes should be cautiously welcomed
The report is entitled “A new direction for cycling in Queensland “. It is a new direction, new thinking to make cycling viable. It includes a wide range of measures that would help restore cycling as a mode of transport, including:
- develop a “vulnerable road user strategy” policy to protect cyclists
- road rules to treat cyclists as first class citizens on the roads
- set a minimum passing distance of 1 meter to provide a safety buffer for cyclists
- Allow cyclists to treat red lights as stop signs.
These are small and cautious steps towards winding back the disastrous experiment of the helmet law. It is a sign that legislators are finally willing to admit that it is time to reverse a policy that has reduced cycling while making it more dangerous.