Hey, I learnt something. I was indeed talking about North American stats. I think we basically agree on all this. (I am vehemently pro-helmet - I never ride without one. But agree that helmet laws are counter-productive.) Thanks.
Well, North American stats are what I should have been using, since I’m griping about BC. Regardless of their stance on helmets, cyclists who care about safety should surely be focusing on changing driving habits and improving infrastructure. The NL are so much safer because they’ve done a great job on these points. Helmets are almost non-existent there.
The constitution implications will be … interesting
Which constitution applies 10km up in the air and in international waters? That’s why they can sell you stuff ‘tax free’ in planes.
No, sorry. The law still does apply on an aircraft (or ship) in international waters, it’s the law of the country that the aircraft or ship is registered in. Duty-free sales are a specific exemption- note that you also get duty-free shops airside in international airport terminals, and those are still part of the country the airport is in!
I’ve heard it said that in Europe, everything that is not explicitly allowed by law is considered to be forbidden, while in America, everything that is not explicitly forbidden by law is allowed.
I guess this why Americans seem to go to great lengths to post signs prohibiting just about everything.
Let’s say you have a 10 by 10 meter empty space in a nice residential area. You might put a tiny park there. Add one or two benches, a few flowers, a trash can, and a dispenser for plastic bags for removing dog poo.
In most places in Europe, you’d have a label on the plastic bag dispenser, most likely a cute icon of a pooping dog to tell everyone what the bags are for.
In America, I saw…
- A sign mandating the use of said plastic bag dispenser
- A sign prohibiting the public consumption of alcohol
- A sign warning me not to step on the flowers
- A sign stating that the park was closed from 8pm to 6am (or sth like that).
I still do not quite get the concept of a public park closing for the night. It might have to do with safety, but then, most peolpe tend to feel safer in parks that actually have people in them.
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To my knowledge, public parks in the US primarily close at night in order to push the homeless or otherwise “undesirable” away from them.
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While there are numerous instances, as can quite readily be seen, of terrible security theater, I do have to worry a bit about the image BoingBoing used for the article. I have always been taught that unstable/undercut bluffs/cliffs are a significant risk. Is the book saying that they’re not?
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Humans are the only animals on earth that don’t get water for free.
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