I can see the point between your comment and Eric's comparing this to the smoking ban. I do acknowledge your point of view.
But I don't see this as an infringement of personal liberties. I think the issue here is laws and regulations regarding the use of vehicles and the roads. I constantly hear that cyclists want to be regarded as fair users of the roads, that they should be given the same precedence as vehicles and have the same right to use the road. If that is the case, then it doesn't seem untoward to me that we have safety laws and mandate safety equipment the same way we do for cars.
We're certainly not talkinga bout benning cycling here though, and I find it absolutely ludicrous that anyone has the audacity to say that people won't want to take up riding a bike if they have to wear some safety gear.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-08-25 10:19 pm (UTC)But I don't see this as an infringement of personal liberties. I think the issue here is laws and regulations regarding the use of vehicles and the roads. I constantly hear that cyclists want to be regarded as fair users of the roads, that they should be given the same precedence as vehicles and have the same right to use the road. If that is the case, then it doesn't seem untoward to me that we have safety laws and mandate safety equipment the same way we do for cars.
We're certainly not talkinga bout benning cycling here though, and I find it absolutely ludicrous that anyone has the audacity to say that people won't want to take up riding a bike if they have to wear some safety gear.