Originally Posted by
Redhatter
Not that I know of, and I'm not sure I'd support such a move either.
Last I recall anyone bringing it up as an issue, it was the Democratic Labor Party during the 2007 election, one of their policies was to abolish what they called "victimless crimes", one of the examples being failing to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle or motorcycle.
Sadly, as much as having a block of foam strapped to my head can be a nuisance at times, where a crash is concerned, physics is not on my side. Numerous studies into the dynamics of road accidents have shown the human skull to be insufficiently thick enough to protect against collisions with hard surfaces. So to my mind, it's the lesser of two evils.
I won't get into whether or not helmets are effective in protecting one's head in a fall, because such discussions are not allowed here. I'm just interested in how cyclists in your country react to mandatory helmet laws. When our government tried to impose one, there was strong opposition to it from cycling organizations, who saw it as an anti-cycling measure. One of the many arguments against it was the effect if would have on bike-share programs. The law was passed in a watered-down version. In the cities it now applies only to children, and outside the city limits it applies to everyone. From what I've seen, cyclists of all ages widely flout it, and I've yet to see the police harass helmetless riders. As soon as a more progressive government is in power, I'm sure it will be repealed.