{"id":1364,"date":"2016-06-01T21:48:03","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T21:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ssgc.co\/?p=1364"},"modified":"2016-06-01T21:48:03","modified_gmt":"2016-06-01T21:48:03","slug":"mobile-phone-lights-for-sydney-pedestrians-a-contrast-to-new-cycling-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/singlespeedgoldcoast.com\/2016\/06\/01\/mobile-phone-lights-for-sydney-pedestrians-a-contrast-to-new-cycling-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile Phone Lights For Sydney Pedestrians A Contrast To New Cycling Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ain’t harm minimization a wonderful\u00a0thing? Me, I never discipline my children with a baseball bat unless it’s a Nerf one.\u00a0And when I’m abusing drugs, I do it Hackett style, with prescription drugs. That way there are known side-effects when I’m hospitalized.<\/p>\n

\"Relax,
Relax, I don’t have children.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That’s why I’m so happy\u00a0to see the morons who can’t look up from their phone, even when crossing roads, are being protected in Sydney. In a trial for which there seems to be no known outcome, Sydney phone morons are getting $250,000 worth of lights<\/a> installed. It appears they have no baseline figures, except to say petextrians (as they call them) are “highly prevalent”. \u00a0Just how they’ll measure the outcomes and decide whether other dickheads in other streets are worth saving isn’t clear yet. Still, all Australians are precious, even if they’re terminally stupid, and it’s great to see we’re protecting these idiots from themselves.<\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/petextrians-dangers-distracted-walking-honor-schoech-md\"
https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/petextrians-dangers-distracted-walking-honor-schoech-md<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This from the government that recently introduced such bicycle safety laws as 5x higher fines for not wearing a helmet\u00a0and licensing for adult cyclists. Yes, you have to get tattooed and carry and card now if you’re want to roll down the street to get milk.<\/p>\n

Oh. My wife just informed me the tattoos aren’t mandatory. So why has everyone got one?<\/p>\n

The NSW laws are there to protect us. I have no doubt about this. The government told me so. They’ve raised the fines for trivial offenses up to 500% to make us safer. It’s not like there’s any evidence showing us that\u00a0better cycle paths, particularly for women<\/a>, has any effect on cycling. Or that the government’s own figures show that bicycle lanes reduce accidents by up to 50%<\/a>\u00a0and actually increase overall\u00a0traffic<\/a>, even when pinching a bit of road from cars. (Yeah, turns out one person in a car isn’t an efficient use of space.) \u00a0The NSW government quite rightly campaigned against the bike lanes because they’re not peasants and they don’t ride bikes. When they said they wanted a transport policy for the people, the meant real people with fat bellies and coronary problems, not cyclists. Still, I’m confident they love cyclists and what looks like a mean, punitive and ineffective attack against cyclists is their way of showing they care.<\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2016-01-29\/sydney-cyclists-protest-new-laws-requiring-them-to-carry-id\/7123360\"
http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2016-01-29\/sydney-cyclists-protest-new-laws-requiring-them-to-carry-id\/7123360<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the draconian new measures\u00a0came out, people wanted to know what I thought about them. Like Mao Tse Tung when asked about the French revolution, I replied, “It’s too early to tell.” \u00a0The real measure of the laws was be\u00a0how they were applied. It’s not for me\u00a0to say they’re the most disgustingly biased attack on a minority since Gonzo corralled chickens and forced them to sing. Not yet, anyway.<\/p>\n