Originally Posted by closetbiker
I'd be asking qualified individuals from national bicycle advocacy organizations from around the world for advice. Not just a message board.
It might be good to know that bicycles are the reason most of our right-of-way rules exist. Cyclists were granted the right to use the roadways before the automobile was invented and are recognized as having those rights in every country of the world. Second on the scene, the first automobiles were confined to these roads and rules. Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as operators of vehicles.
Good luck.
edit - I have a few friends at work that lived in Fiji and fequently return for visits, so I called one of them and asked about the helmet point ( a single sentence in the regulations which says "cyclists must wear a helmet")
He said, no one wears a bike helmet in Fiji. He has never seen someone wear one. That's not to suggest there isn't some regulation somewhere that says what you posted, it's just strange that that would be the only regulation set out and no one follows it.
I also checked out my provincial motor vehicle act and looked at how simple the concept of including bicycles in an act may be. One sentence says,
The LTA (land Transport Authority) advertised for submissions on the current act and wanted those submissions on the following Wednesday (two working days to get a submission together). The act has been revsied a number of times since Fiji gaied Independance and each time the "Bicycle Act has been overlooked.Most of the current legislation dates back to the "colonial" era and a time when there weren't and sealed roads in Fiji. Older legislation required licences, large white squares on the back of the bike - like older motoring laws that required a man with a red flag to walk in front of "horseless" carriages.
You are correct. Hardly any one wears a helmet here. But this is because the law is not enforced.If you cycle around Suva (Fiji's capital) today you will see a lot more helmets.