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At what point did good advice and common sense become an advocate of a nanny state?

Merecat wrote:At what point did good advice and common sense become an advocate of a nanny state?

<ding> precisely .... some cultures value experience sadly ours doesn't appear to

Hayden wrote: I do a short commute, 30 to 40 mph but always wear `the gear` that said I may consider jeans at those speeds, on the downhill streches I crawl past cyclists who must be approaching 30/35 mph plus...how come they don`t need leathers?....

as a cyclist who returns home down probably the steepest and longest hill in london i would have to agree. on thursday i hit 38.3 mph wearing jeans and a t-shirt (and a helmet) but it's not a question of 'needing; leathers, just choosing to wear them (on a motorcycle of course) it's been mentioned on here just recently that quite a few of us remember the days of no protection. when i started in '81 all i wore was rucanor canvas trainers, jeans, thin leather gloves and a nylon padded jacket. i later had a belstaff for the winter and a cheapish motorcycle jacket for the summer but of course no armour. these days i wear the lot but on the cycle, even though i know the risks i can't help but go as fast as i can down that bloody hill. personal risk and damn the torpedo's i guess. i'd never wear all the gear and have a passenger with nothing mind.

slparry wrote:some cultures value experience sadly ours doesn't appear to

Should the wearing of protective clothing at all times be made mandatory like helmets ?
Common sense surely ?

Oh yes you don't do you

slparry wrote:totally agree that all should wear what the want

This is where I get a bit confused.

On the one hand we decry people wearing shorts and T shirts on bikes for not using common sense, and then defend their right to do just that.

bikesnbones wrote:
On the one hand we decry people wearing shorts and T shirts on bikes for not using common sense, and then defend their right to do just that.

Isnt that the way it works?
There is no requirement to wear any protection except a helmet, so some will insist on riding in shorts, T shirts and flipflops, because that is their right. I reserve the right to think theyre as mad as a box of frogs. Doesnt matter how hard you are a bumble bee on the nipple at 80 MPH will make you wobble!

It is something completley different for a rider to be dressed sensibly for the type of motorcycle and yet allow a pillion, who is in his charge, to ride unprotected. As I witnessed and as the original article reads.


You do your own risk assessment and act accordingly. Keeping yourself safe and anyone else in your charge while riding.

Merecat wrote:Doesnt matter how hard you are a bumble bee on the nipple at 80 MPH will make you wobble.

And a collision with a lampost at just 5mph will break bones no matter how much leather I'm wearing.
Does that mean I'm as mad as a box of frogs for riding a bike, when I have a much safer car at my disposal.
I know people who think yes.
I'm sure you do too.
Frankly, I thinks it's a bit rich for us to get sanctimonious about safety, when our preferred method of transport is proven to be the most dangerous by a big margin.

cornishflat wrote:
And you would feel so much better because they ignored your advice to dress accordingly.
Is that not taking the moral high ground

I'd take no satisfaction from it - so........ No.

Al