Re: Daytime running light popularity

On 11/1/2024 7:32 AM, Roger Merriman wrote:

Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

 Don't pretend that helmet mandates are impossible. Don't pretend that
bicyclist rights to the road are never going to be challenged.
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Much like Wolfgangs mandatory cycle infrastructure that is political, I get
the impression that passing states laws is somewhat easier ie someone with
a “bright idea” can get it done, certainly in uk nothing is a devolved as
that, so getting helmets legislation though or any legislation requires
effort and time, hence it’s always failed in the uk, I think might be
required in one of the Channel Islands or maybe only below 16?

Of course mandatory infrastructure is political. So are mandatory helmets. And such restrictions probably always start with someone with a "bright idea" - often, I think, someone who stands to make money from the idea.
U.S. helmet laws are an example. Many states have them, and most apply only to children, up to a variety of ages. How did those come about? Well, Safe Kids, a nationwide organization devoted to protecting kids from tons of different hazards (e.g. climbing trees, crossing streets without an adult nearby, playgrounds that are on actual ground instead of rubber pads, etc.) received a "generous donation" from Bell Sports Inc., then the primary maker of bike helmets. Safe Kids immediately began portraying bicycling as a horrendous risk and overwhelming source of serious brain injuries. Safe Kids used its hundreds of local chapters to lobby for Mandatory Helmet Laws in state legislatures. Was there a connection to the "generous donation"? Hmm.
I can give details of how I got our bike club to vote against supporting a statewide MHL, and how I testified against a statewide MHL in front of a legislative committee; and I can note Ohio still has no such MHL. But of course, I'd be accused of either lying or bragging, depending how much documentation I provided.
But I'll note that Safe Kids has stopped its monomaniacal push to get helmets on all kids as well as all parents ("Be a good example"). They seem to now be concentrating on child car seats as the world's most critical issue. I suspect that Bell Sports now has too much competition in the market and can't afford more "generous donations."
Follow the money.
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- Frank Krygowski