Bike madness
No helmets everywhere you look
Local maintenance carpenter Peter Foon got the shock of his life recently when he saw a bike rider hit his car, sail into the air, crash down on his bonnet and tumble down onto the road.
That accidental but frightening stunt show all happened ‘helmet free’. While the young bike rider may have seen their life flash before them the only thing Peter saw was red.
While he was most concerned for the bike riders’ condition at the time, he’s incensed that so many cyclists are not wearing helmets while riding around Port Douglas. The would-be Evil Knievel escaped serious injury with just a few cuts and scratches limping away from the scene, but it could have been much worse.
“He had headphones on and didn’t even look up until it was too late” said Peter “he was a South American bloke on his way to work and he was oblivious to what was around him”.
Peter was pulling into a parking spot on the opposite side of the road to Zinc Restaurant on Macrossan Street when the rider, who was travelling on the wrong side of the road, hit his vehicle.
It caused damage to his vehicles front right guard and headlight. But it’s damage to humans that has Peter Foon most concerned.
‘I was rattled for sure and couldn’t sleep for 2 nights thinking about what could have happened, I mean you can’t reverse a brain injury can you?” Peter is right, every day in Port Douglas bike riders play ‘Russian Roulette’ riding on the wrong side of the road, in and out of traffic and pedestrians without wearing a life saving helmet.
It was so easy for me to photograph offenders, they’re EVERYWHERE!
You must wear a helmet
The law is clear.
When you ride a bicycle or an electric powered wheeled recreational device or a personal mobility device, you must wear an Australian Standard (AS) approved bicycle helmet. You must securely fit and fasten it. An approved bicycle helmet means one that complies with all the safety requirements.
Doing the right thing
Visitors Teena Jackson 54 and Michael Jones 61 are the poster couple for bike riders around town. They have the proper approved helmets and wouldn’t even contemplate getting on their bikes without protection. “It’s not what we do on the road that worries us, its others we have to watch out for and we happily wear helmets every time we hop on these bikes” said Mr Jones. The yachties have also noticed, like us, the huge number of people in Port Douglas gambling with their lives by not wearing helmets. Traumatic brain injury is a major cause of disability and death in Australia with a common cause being falls. As a concerned Peter Foon reminds us “wear a helmet and don’t become a statistic’