Monday, August 21, 2006

One Day in China

This is a short video collage of various parts of life in China. The background music is from the movie "Beijing Bicycle".

Note that in most of the scenes of biyclists, including motorized bicycles, that the riders often wear nothing on the head, other than sunglasses and a hat perhaps. It seems true even of the motorized vespa like scooters.

There has been debate about cyclists being required to wear bicycle helmets when riding a bicycle or motorized bicycle (inlcuding ebikes), in the USA. Perhaps, places like China would offer a glimpse into any safety issues of being without a helmet.

There are many advocates around the world that believe wearing a helmet should be a matter of personal choice and not law. One of thier arguments, among many, is that skill level of riding a bike is a much more clear indicator of whether someone will have a serious injury, than if they a wearing a helmet or not.

Perhaps law makers need to protect the liberty of the people when it comes to the personal choice on what and when they wear anything on their head, and instead focus their attention on educating the public about developing their skill at riding a bicycle, to help promote public safety.

No comments: