‘Sexist’ bike helmet laws mean too many bad hair days, says cyclist Sue Abbott

CYCLIST Sue Abbott puts her money where her mouth is when crusading against “sexist’’ bike helmet laws. What do you think - take our poll

CYCLIST Sue Abbott puts her money where her mouth is when crusading against “sexist’’ bike helmet laws.

The resident from Scone in New South Wales was issued a $153 on-the-spot fine for riding without a helmet while in Adelaide for this week’s Velo-city international cycling conference.

And she will be riding without a helmet again on Thursday afternoon as part of a protest ride from the city to Henley Beach organised by Freedom Cyclists — but this time police have promised no bareheaded riders will be fined during the event.

Ms Abbott said it was “ridiculous’’ that only Australia and New Zealand had compulsory all age helmet laws which she believes turns people — especially women — off cycling.

The 54-year-old said she would continue risking fines by riding helmet-less to highlight her cause.

“I firmly believe more people would ride bikes if helmets were optional,’’ she said.

“It is a very sexist law because a lot of women have maintained hairstyles and would end up with helmet hair — and women have told me that’s one of the factors (for not riding bikes)’’.

Ms Abbott said she had been fined a dozen times in her native NSW in her fight against the laws and had her bikes seized and sold by police to pay her fines.

Another participant of the Velo-city conference Kevin Mayne, who is also the European Cyclists’ Federation delegate, was more keen to talk about the great opportunities for cycling infrastructure provided by Adelaide’s relatively wide roads.

While Mr Mayne said Adelaide was decades behind the “forerunner’’ cities of Europe regarding cycling integration into the transport system, he believed there was massive scope for improvement.

“You could do so much with this city — the width of the streets provide great access for cyclists,’’ Mr Mayne, the federation’s director of development, said.

“Most European cities don’t have this space to work with but here you can find room for cyclist and pedestrian areas and make it a very livable city.’’

Mr Mayne said governments needed to commit a greater percentage of their transport budgets to cycling to realise the opportunities provided by Adelaide’s space and get more people on bikes and less cars on the road.