This is an issue many of you may not fully understand or care about but I’m sick of looking over my shoulder all the time. Cheers to the coast for being the only media source in the province to ever show skateboarding in an honest and realistic light in this article from about a year ago:
http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/skate-free-andor-die/Content?oid=1116002
This article is very telling when it comes to the lack of thought put into this law, the overzealous enforcement of the law on skateboarders, and the sheer amount of ignorance, misrepresentations of statistics and just plain lies that it took for this to go into place. ESPECIALLY on the part of the officer who is interviewed in this article:
“Constable ***** (no names in the bitches) rejects the notion that a compliance boost could be because attendance is down and the skateboarders left are mostly ones who were always wearing helmets. “The park,” he says, “is full.””
This is a blatant lie, there was a point when everyone that came out had to relocate to a hidden area in the south end to avoid tickets. The only reason that it looked like there was an improvement was because the people skating there were all now small children and people that already wore helmets.
There are a lot of very talented skateboarders in the city and we have one of the second oldest skate shops in the country. There have been pros to come out of this city, and there is a handful of guys that are sponsored.
This is the only city in North America (or anywhere else in the world that I know of) that enforces this type of law. Apparently there is an area of North Vancouver that has similar legislation but doesn’t enforce it blindly and without any sort of budge room.
Skateboarding is a very individual activity, people who do it as much as I do basically fall in love with it in a way that many people will never understand. It becomes a major part of your life and a positive outlet when you’re feeling down or work is stressing you out.
A very important point was made in that article that many people overlook when someone says the following:
“No one is ever going to force a figure skater to wear a helmet. And that’s because it’s different people attached to that.”
Imagine if you went to see a figure skating show, the figure skaters were wearing crazy sequin outfits and dressed in all sort of costume. They’ve all been doing it for most of their lives and have given blood, sweat and tears to be able to do it at that level…now tell them that they have to wear a hockey helmet every time they want to practice or perform. I bet they would be taking a ticket every time.
I know people that have 10-15 tickets in their name simply because wearing a helmet ruins skating for them, for various reasons. University students, engineers, high school kids, hard working tradespeople and everyone in between. These people are getting seriously FUCKED and it’s driving people out of the province.
All we want is some honestly and a bit of a compromise, put an age limit, gauge it by what they saw the person doing (ie if it was any more dangerous than walking down the street), whether they were skating in traffic.
Do something but stop this insanity, a skateboard isn’t a bike, it isn’t a car, it isn’t rollerblades, so stop lumping all this shit together.
Here’s a quote from a police officer at the Commons the other day: “Have fun guys, you probably think we’ve forgotten over the winter, but this summer we’re cracking down harder than ever, get ready for it.” —Nathaniel John Oliver
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2010.
Ah, a helmet bitch. It must be spring…
Think of it as a per-week fee of 128 bucks paid to the hospital to clean up your smashed head.
I don’t understand how wearing a helmet could ruin skate boarding… if not for your own sake, then why can’t you at least set an example for all the kids with soft heads? Plus, skate helmets are sexy.
The only reason it ruins it for them is that they don’t feel helmets are “cool” enough… Welcome to universal health care moron, we dont want the bill for you tools crackin your skulls… grow up…
I read this bitch and all I pick up is “helmet cramps my style, man”.
Put a goddamn helmet on your head, let them think it’s working, while lobbying heavily in an organized group to change the bylaw if you hate it that much, or, keep taking the tickets up the ass since you’re still breaking it. Then, if you win(haaahaha), you can go back to having unmashed hair and risking head injuries.
“It becomes a major part of your life and a positive outlet when you’re feeling down or work is stressing you out.”
Having been in a coma for a month, and recovery which took awhile, a head injury isn’t going to help you feel “up” when you’re “down” or lessen your stress.
It’s probably going to mess you up.
Just wear the helmet, okay?
This is one of the only legit, well-written complaints I have seen posted in this section. Good points OP, especially the figure skating comparison.
*patiently waits for moron posters to come ruin it*
Hmm… has one single person in NS ever been treated for head injuries sustained during skateboarding while not wearing a helmet? I would suppose yes. In this land of public funded health care, we the people have a right to force participants of certain activities to wear PPE to reduce the injuries we pay for.
I fully support our helmet laws, and the fines used to enforce them. I also support a persons right to disagree and disobey with them, however I dont support the public health purse paying for injuries sustained if you choose to ignore the rules.
I’m of two minds on this, kinda like after splitting your head open.
I respect the rights of people to engage in dangerous activities, and for the state not to mandate legal behaviour as illegal.
On the other hand, the majority pays the bills, and things like seatbelts are law.
Man I hate when it isn’t black and white….
“oh I hate the bus bitch come make daddy feel better”
Yup, spring is in the air…
Noticing a few more Squeegee Skids lately, too.
The pros wear helmets, just make it your own. You’re right, it isn’t bike riding, it’s more dangerous than that. It isn’t roller blading in so much that you have the wheels on your feet. If you are a skateboarder you should wear a helmet, a cup, and be denied life insurance. The reason why you have to is because people have recordings now of spectacular beefing episodes where a dude’s face turned into hamburger. If you are going to a skae park to show off stunts, which is the ONLY reason to own a skateboard without looking lame.
Your argument is the same that people use against wearing condoms. “Oh, it doesn’t feel right and I don’t look cool, if you go without it’s a feeling that you can’t hope to understand”. Everything has a consequence and since we have to foot the bill for idiots that damage themselves I will make damn sure that I mitigate how much money I have to shell out for your recreation. Wear a helmet or you get narced. That’s way you won’t have to be saved from being a gimp…
i dont like wearing a helmet either.
and it disturbs me a little how much delight the police seem to be taking in enforcing this law, according to the OP.
but, i have two things to say:
1. i dont think people are going to leave the province over helmet laws.
2. re: “a skateboard isn’t a bike, it isn’t a car, it isn’t rollerblades, so stop lumping all this shit together.”
gravity, concrete, cement and cars don’t care what you’re riding, your soft human head is always going to lose that battle.
Tony Hawk wears a helmet.
Gimp, don’t compare this to condoms, not wearing a helmet isn’t the equivalent of potentially hurting someone ELSE by giving them an STI or getting them knocked up, obviously. If you’re going to use analogies use ones that work…and the pros only use helmets when the cameras are one.
Just like figure skaters, skateboarders LEARN HOW TO FALL. All the helmet ban does is drive skaters out of the park and into the streets, parking lots, and outdoor stairways where it is MUCH more dangerous with traffic nearby.
If you don’t want to wear a helmet, contact your lawyer to have papers drawn up that say you refuse to accept ANY medical care/assistance in the event of injury/trama to the head. Then, I think it’ll be fine. Taxpayers don’t want to pay for your unprotected, broken skull.
until they have waivers where you wave your right to free healthcare and you’re charged for any and all treatment if you incur trama from a wipeout, you’re going to have to protect that melon of yours… whether it’s worth saving or not.
They learn how to fall on their neck real well. So when someone ends up with tofu instead of a functioning brain people arn’t affected? What about the parents who now have to take care of Rainman, here they are thinking ‘Just four more years and I can cook in just an apron again’ and then BAM the kid eats it with a skateboard and now is an over-boiled turnip.
I see no difference than that of the argument for not putting a cap on it. Both protect your head from the dangers of your chosen action. Are they foolproof? No, because some fool always does something that not even Mr. T would pity. But it reduces the risk of the community suffering because of some asanine decision made in an attempt to ‘look cool’.
You see what I did there, I not only reaffirmed my original statement but also showed that you have no comprehension, most likely because you fell on your head skateboarding because you ‘learned how to fall’.
Wow y’all are proof of the nanny state at work. Good show! lol
It’s simple: let the little fucks skate without a helmet, *but* if they split their heads open or smash their brains out make THEM pay for their medical care.
Fuck I’m sick of paying up for people who do stupid shit and end up hurting themselves in the process.
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways.
Translation: Grow up and put the TOYS away mutt.
Overweight people are starting to become more of a strain on the health system them smoking. So following some of the logic here, should we then start forcing them to diet?
Just thought I’d add that point.
“Overweight people are starting to become more of a strain on the health system them smoking. So following some of the logic here, should we then start forcing them to diet?
Just thought I’d add that point.”
They already do, it’s called your doctor. And if your overweight, good luck with the life insurance, you fall under the same category as a chronic smoker. I was wondering when that argument was going to come into play. But they should pay an extra tax on food to compensate for over eating. I think an extra 3% would fix that problem too.
well friend, when you take a header and smash open your skull, we will see just how much brains you have there. if you don’t wanna wear a helmet fine, don’t. but no fee medical aid for an idiot like you want to be.
“Skateboarding is an activity in which you move quickly over hard surfaces. It can lead to injuries that range from minor cuts and bruises to catastrophic brain injury. Each year in the United States, skateboarding injuries cause about 50,000 visits to emergency departments and 1500 children and adolescents to be hospitalized. (Source: AAP, March 2002. )
Most hospitalizations involve head injury. Even injuries that heal quickly can cause pain and anxiety, cost time, and money and may lead to disabilities. This can include loss of vision, hearing and speech; inability to walk, bathe, toilet, dress or feed yourself; and changes in thinking and behavior.”
Wear a helmet.
“I’ve had serious head injuries with and without a helmet on, and I know that it has saved my life more than once,” Tony Hawk.
Wear a helmet.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/youthsports/ci_6…
I’m going to put my vote in to say that helmet laws are bullshit! Like figure skaters, maybe runners should wear helmets, too? When you’re running that fast, who knows what an un-tied shoelace can do! In fact, let’s take it further, and make everyone wear a helmet while walking – untied shoelaces, lips in the sidewalk, and inattentive motorists are all potential hazards that could make you fall and injure your head.
Actually, let’s go even further and ban any type of sport altogether unless you’re protected in every type of protective gear imaginable. Wouldn’t that make soccer so much more… SAFE? I’m getting sick of this bubble-wrap nanny-state culture! People still get free healthcare here for any number of stupid things they do. Are we going to start charging attempted suicide victims for their care, too? Last I heard, old people are the biggest strain on our healthcare system.
One thing though, I think the OP is exaggerating a bit on the enforcement. Last time I was on my skateboard (just a crappy one I use as convenient transportation from time to time) I wasn’t wearing a helmet (OMG!) and passed by three different police cars and not one of them stopped me. I would like to get back into skateboarding since it was a fun, healthy sport, but yes, uncomfortable (not “uncool”) helmets and the risk of getting a ticket is one thing that puts me off now. At least you don’t have to wear a helmet while Bitching, though it may be useful sometimes with some of the things posted here!
I think Q just needs to wear a helmet constantly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzCc0SprRsg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7zEKk84uc4…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjges2S-dl4…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gVV6xY-qgE…
But they’re all good right, because they knew how to fall? At least they looked “cool” doing without a helmet.
HaliwoodGirl…
he should even be forced to wear it while riding on the short bus.
and don’t think we can’t notice the redictio ad absurdum you’re pushing…
there are enough ‘accidents’ a year from skateboarding to warrant action.
When the jump in figure-skating head trauma (much like the recent push for helmets while skiing) rises, you can be sure they will be mandatory as well.
Think about the spin-off effects though, which would be fewer people wanting to get involved in these sports, more people staying at home posting on the Internet, and MORE OBESITY! Accidents happen, and there are more ways to limit and prevent accidents than bubble-wrapping yourself, such as practice and care. Helmets just suck. They’re an inconvenient, uncomfortable, unnecessary pain in the ass thanks to Canada’s over the top Nanny State. It’s not like this everywhere. Seriously, go to Europe, where healthcare is also free, and see how many people wear helmets there. I’m all for safety, but not where it seriously limits your own personal decisions in your personal life.
And I’m sure that running could be just as dangerous as skateboarding. And what about that new sport with all the jumping and whatnot, “Parkour” I believe it’s called? Are they going to have to wear helmets some day, too? How will this be enforced?
The #1 rule is always – Safety!
perhaps once it’s recognized as a sport… then yeah, they should.
for now, they’re just crazy fuckers running, flipping and twisting from place to place.
While I’m not against helmets, the OP does IMO have a very valid point with figure skaters not wearing helmets.
I think its way past time the police start raiding figure skating training rinks & writing tickets for this very risky behaviour.
OR they should also have to sign declarations that no free health care will be provided for any head injuries. While engaging in figure skating activities.
Or maybe this is a possible solution for skate boarders to reinvent their sport….Ice Skate boarding (they could call if figure boarding) & use whatever reasons figure skaters use to not be wearing helmits !
skate helmets are sexy indeed, but only if it’s a Bern. those helmets are straight badass…
Reminds me of the teenage snowboarder I saw in the ICU. When I asked about the helmet law on the slopes he mumbled that it didn’t come into effect until the following week. $10 000 a day+ for the ICU x?days +surgeries and imaging…, how many tickets for a half million dollar dumb teen would that be? I agree with the concept of relinquishing your right to free healthcare by participating in high risk behaviors. ie. Anyone who started smoking after 1960, people who order extra large donairs more than once a week, python owners, Prius drivers…
Tell you what, let’s just ban skateboarding entirely within HRM — god knows there is probably a bylaw already drafted given our bylaw-happy kouncil — and bulldoze the eyesore on the Common and return it to something more useful for a majority of citizens. Then you won’t have to worry about wearing a helmet.
Skateboarders are hot, just sayin’ =)
I don’t think making non-helmet wearers waive their right to health-care is logical or even plausible. Besides it being a violation of human rights in this country, we’d have to deny health-care to every other person who engages in dangerous behavior that leads to health problems and soaks up tax payers money… like every smoker, drinker, over-eater etc. All of whom individually soak up way more tax money than head injuries caused by skateboarding specifically. And where is that line drawn? How far will it go until almost everyone has their health-care taken away? It’s a stupid suggestion and does nothing to address the problem.
Speaking of stupid suggestions:
Lets just abolish the helmet laws for everything, bikes, motorcycles, roller blades, whatever… and then do away with required consent for organ donation completely.
Fuck it, that’s a good idea. Dead bodies have been romanticized, spiritualized, and are a mystery to the majority of people. Giving up control over your own remains would never fly with religion or society (so far removed from death) in general but to a skeptical atheist who has actually dealt with dead bodies closely, this makes perfect sense.
And fuck all of you who are going to say something stupid like “atheists have no morals” or “you’re a serial killer”
Oh and I agree…
…skateboarders are HOT!
fizz:you articulated what i could not…i heart you in this realm
I donate all my organs except my skin and eyes…that just creeps me out man.
It’s interesting that the only organs that creep you out are the one’s you are most familiar with and can see… every other organ that can be transplanted is internal.
If it makes you feel better, fallingangels, if every single donate-able organ was removed from your body after death, even the eyes and skin… your family would still be able to have an open casket funeral and would not be able to tell the difference. An embalmed body with it’s eyes removed is not a disfigured or gory sight.
I think the eyes in particular creep most people out because we have associated them with one’s “soul” (for lack of a better word) in life. The problem is letting that association linger after death once the “soul” departs or ceases to exist depending on your beliefs.
Also, there is a misconception that after your eyes are transplanted your eyeballs will be animated in another persons head. Although the entire eyeball is removed from the donor, the eyeball itself is not popped into another persons eye socket. Only your corneas (transparent outer layer of the eye) is grafted onto their own eyeballs.
Eh, making them pay for their own healthcare if they smash their head open *is* a slippery slope, but hay, more money left to treat the fatties and smokers *shrug*
You can have every part of me after I die. In fact, I’d be happy to donate one part of my body in particular to other less fortunate males.
And seriously though, lots of people injure themselves doing far stupider things everyday and still get free healthcare. What about someone who doesn’t know how to use a knife and slices their finger off while cutting roast beef? Drunk person falling down the stairs and breaking their neck? Someone who’s pissed off and smashes their hand into a brick wall, breaking all their fingers? They all still get free healthcare, too.
As a former skateboarder, sure I may be a bit biased, but I knew what I was doing. I knew the risks and I knew my limits. The worst injury I got was a broken arm which a helmet wouldn’t have done a thing to prevent anyway. Lots of scraped knees and elbows, but never once hit my head. In the summer, helmets get so fucking hot, sweaty, and itchy, they suck. They are an unnecessary nuisance which I am sure is putting people off skateboarding.
A broken arm is in a whole other league than smashing your head on a sidewalk and having your brains spew out of the cracks in your skull.
I think the point *is* head injuries are serious business. Think of your family and other loved ones — what would THEY go through if you smashed your head up so badly that you were essentially brain dead (or able to breathe on your own but you couldn’t feed yourself or speak or even wipe your own ass) and on life support?
True. I mainly wish the fucking things weren’t so God damn uncomfortable! Seriously, at least to me, it has nothing to do with “wanting to look cool” or whatever. There is plenty more about me that makes me look uncool besides a helmet! They’re an itchy, sweaty, uncomfortable nuisance.
Yes yes, I know a permanent brain injury would be a bigger nuisance. I just want to live my life without these unnecessary inconveniences, aight! I guess it also comes down to what type of person you are – I’m generally a risk-taking kind of guy. I know full well that I may earn myself a Darwin award someday, but to me that would be better than just sitting around posting on some stupid Internet site all day. And I will fully accept personal blame if I do injure myself skateboarding, if I get back into skateboarding, which I should do since apparently many chicks think it’s hot!
“I know people that have 10-15 tickets in their name simply because wearing a helmet ruins skating for them, for various reasons. University students, engineers, high school kids, hard working tradespeople and everyone in between. These people are getting seriously FUCKED and it’s driving people out of the province.”
lol what
It’s not the only province to enforce helmuts in skate parks, I came to Halifax from Ontario, and all our local skate parks required helmuts…
Skate parks require helmuts for your own safety. It is to protect yourself, regardless of how good of a skater you claim to be, in the prevention of brain injuries and possible death due to head injury.
Skater-die mantality really is in a class of its own. Recreational skiers and snowboarders chose to wear helmuts due to a factoral history of injuries.
I never have been a fan of skateboarding…Previous experiences involving them and their “rule the road and street” attitude use to really piss me off.
Get a clue skateboarder… When you are possibly in the emergency room as a vegitable in the future maybe that will tighten the lose screws in your head.
I’m changing my vote….
they should be able to ride without helmets and without a fine…
but can’t sue the city since it’s posted that they should be wearing a helmet.
if they want to reduce their IQ to a stalk of celery… well far be it for me to stop them.
oh, and hope you survive when the power goes out for no reason at all and you’re confined to an iron lung…
wow. fuck alot of you guys that are getting really hateful and worked up over this post.
“The pros wear helmets, just make it your own.”
The guy that wrote this is a complete idiot ^^^
GimpySaviour: If you’ve ever seen a skateboard magazine or a video you’d know what a dumb comment that was
Please explain how skateboarding is more dangerous than riding a bike, I’d love to hear your answer to how being able to step off of something any time you want and be standing up straight is more dangerous than getting thrown head over heels onto your neck with 25-50 lbs of metal and rubber between your legs… idiot.
halifaxresponder –
Its the only place i know of that enforces a helmet law inside and outside of skateparks.
By the way anyone doubting the figure skating comparison read this:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/wi…
“You don’t get these people pulling together costumes and music and choreography and presentation … and then expect these girls to go out there and wear a helmet,” he said during a Tuesday teleconference.
“Men also are at risk. Paul Binnebose, member of the 1999 U.S. bronze medalist pairs team, fractured his skull later that year during a fall in practice.”
you don’t hear people calling figure skaters assholes and wishing they end up being “stalks of celery”.
The truth is that people have a false perception of how dangerous skateboarding is because they stepped on one once and fell on their ass because they didn’t know what they were doing.
uh, you have to wear a helmet while riding a bike as well…
so I’m not sure where you’re going with this.
both should wear a helmet.
it may be less hazardous but we’d still like to see brains remain as an internal organ in the majority of cases.
and neville… hasn’t EVERYONE done that? I mean, you had to be a beginner SOME time…
the question is, how to we determine when they don’t need the helmet anymore?
like stunt drivers… should they really be obligated to wear seatbelts? well yeah… because they aren’t the only person out there.
someone else could come up and poof, they’re stapling your head together and you’re eating through a tube for a year.
1. I would like someone explain to me why “wearing a helmet ruins skating”. I would think if anything it would make one feel safer about trying some gnarly jumps, turns or whatever.
2. Granted neville, if you’re using the board for commuting then, yeah, you can step off anytime. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. If the next Tony Hawk wannabe is trying something new and beyond their current abilities then they’re bound to wipeout numerous times before they finally ‘nail it.’ Each time they wipe out is an opportunity to crack their skull on the unforgiving concrete. When Jo-commuter is riding their bike they’re usually not trying to leap up, spin 360°, and come down backwards before the light changes.
If you’re going to push your limits to do the next big trick then why wouldn’t it be prudent to try and protect yourself so you’re able to walk away from a stumble to try it again.
i have smashed my melon many times riding my bike…sometimes my fault sometimes not. i find when it warms up i would really like to shave my head but i have a bumpy misshapen head. (from genetics not having it bonked repeatedly)…come to think of it i should probably just wear a helmet all the time
zZz.. I should’ve quoted what he said:
“You’re right, it isn’t bike riding, it’s more dangerous than that. It isn’t roller blading in so much that you have the wheels on your feet. If you are a skateboarder you should wear a helmet, a cup, and be denied life insurance.”
It’s shows like ‘Scarred’ that make people say stupid shit like this and serves to further disenfranchise the youth that chose to skateboard instead of play basketball or hockey.
Also zZz I know you may only know about skateboarding from watching television or playing video games but their are different types of skating and different tricks. For instance many of the older guys that go in the 15 foot deep bowl at the commons will wear pads and a helmet, especially if they’re trying something new. But if they’re rolling around the other parts of the park they will not. It’s common sense, if you do something every day of your life for 10, 15 or even 20 years you’re going to know how to do it within your ability and how to protect yourself for the situation.
The majority of people receiving tickets are doing stuff no more dangerous to them than the average person out ice skating on a lake or someone playing pick up basketball at a schoolyard. That is the root of the problem and that’s why skateboarders aren’t rolling over and accepting this law.
Another reason that this law pisses skateboarders off is it seems like it was passed without even an ounce of actual research and was more like this:
“We need to generate more revenue from ticketing… everybody brainstorm”
and then later “HEY GUYS! We can just start heavily enforcing this loopholed law I just found in the motervehicle act”
“OH PERFECT!!! Those skateboarders never wear helmets anyway so we’ll get lots of money out of them, the stench of youth and creativity in this city was getting to me anyway.. Hopefully they’ll just go to one of those stinky liberal places like Montreal or Europe *GASPS fill the room*”
makes a little more sense…
I guess. I do agree that skateboarding isn’t as dangerous as bicycling though.
with a skull only two pennies thick though it doesn’t take much of an impact to really fuck you up. I’m surprised more things aren’t more strictly regulated.
and PG, funny, I have an oddly shaped head as well… doesn’t stop me from buzzing though. I’d rather be comfortable than stylish. I wouldn’t have the whole GI Jane syndrome to get over though so I’ll give you that.
i usually just go for the pigtails…i don’t want to scare anyone, tho that gives me an idea for all hallows eve
by the way I can give you some pain if you find skaters hot… girl.
Right on Neville!
ZzZ “how to we determine when they don’t need the helmet anymore?”
When they are of age and can legally decide and gauge the risks they want to take in life for themselves. Just like how of age people can decide to risk smoking, drinking and gambling.
I’m tired of all the gory descriptions people have been coming up with as scare tactics in the place of logical argument. You can’t just say BRAINS SPLATTERED ALL OVER THE GROUND! Or “Your family will weep over you lifeless body!” Over and over again and expect people to be scared into thinking like you. Stop using the simplest, easiest, and least credible method of debating and actually contribute something to the conversation.
“Concrete is HARD so you as an adult shouldn’t be allowed to make your own decisions about what risks you want to take in life… but not ALL risks, just the skateboarding one” WTF!
This isn’t about people not wearing helmets because they want to look cool… the only reason why you people bring that up is because you’ve attatched skateboarding to insecure teenagers only, and fail to look beyond your own premature judgments of people who enjoy this activity.
This is about people calling out an illogical, unfair, and ineffective law that is incompatible with other laws which allow people of age to make their own decisions when it comes to risk. It’s about dispelling the stigma, misinformation, and myths that surround skateboarding and making the sport safer by allowing people to skate in designated areas (that were paid for by your tax money) away form traffic without being harassed by police officers, who could be doing better things with their time, for personally choosing not to wear a helmet.
And for the record, I don’t skateboard.
neville…well written and thoughtful post.
This quote:
“””Have fun guys, you probably think we’ve forgotten over the winter, but this summer we’re cracking down harder than ever, get ready for it.”””
…demonstrates the “us versus them” attitude taken by law enforcement in this city. I think that’s a shame, and does nothing to improve the increasingly tarnished reputation of the police.
My solution would have been to require helmets when doing tricks at a skateboard park etc, but not while commuting, riding to school etc.
Here’s an analogy:
I am a powerboater. When I race my little hydroplane, I am happy to wear a personal floatation device, but I would never support a law forcing me to do so while paddling my canoe on calm waters on a summers’ day…
Neville makes a great point HERE:
“”The truth is that people have a false perception of how dangerous skateboarding is because they stepped on one once and fell on their ass because they didn’t know what they were doing.””
Exactly.
As far as spouting hospital statistics to support this draconian law, that’s a fallacious arguement. An equal number of folks are injured by slipping and falling in the bathtub. It’s easy to come up with “shocking” statistics when the population you’re studying is approaching 400,000,000!
Sorry my opinion’s so long but it might be worth a read for both sides…
This is a pretty silly arguement especially because (for the most part) both sides refuse to listen to the other. I’ve been skateboarding for over ten years, and like to think I’ve earned an opinion on this issue. I wore a helmet just about every time I stepped on a skateboard from the age of 10-18 or so (mainly so I wouldn’t stress my parents out too bad), but, have recently stopped wearing it for the most part for reasons I’m not sure of, I probably should still be wearing it.
To all the skateboarders who think helmets are stupid or not cool, you’re being ridiculous. Just stop and think for a second and you’ll realize that, although you still won’t admit it. Even if you have never hit your head it’s not to say it will never happen, and that’s the idea behind the helmet. Seriously, not that it is likely to happen but if you really hit your head you could ruin your life.
Now, to all the non-skateboarders and police officers flying in here or giving tickets to 14 year olds with this idea that skateboarders are just a bunch of punk brats against any sort of authority or regulation that think we’re too cool for helmets, school, jobs or whatever else you think get over yourselves. We just like to have fun riding a skateboard.
The reason most skateboarders don’t want to wear helmets is because they aren’t cool. No I’m just kidding, they aren’t and that’s definately why some refuse, but that’s besides the point. Skateboarding is not like soccer or hockey or badmonton where you’re told what to do, when to practice and how hard you have to work, it’s a completely free, open activity that you do as you please.
There really is no good reason that skateboarders won’t wear a helmet, it’s just not part of the thing and that’s going to be very hard to change. Kinda like taking fighting out of hockey, it’s dangerous and could be avoided but it’s part of the game and people that are a part of it want to keep it that way. That’s what the older, wiser, generation who are trying to protect us and/or probably make a few bucks in ticket fees don’t and won’t understand.
This whole helmet law and inforcement is definately a bit much though. I mean seriously, you put in a $500 000 dollar park, and then scare off all the people who have been working and begging for it for 10 plus years just so you can feel like you’re making the them safer? If they would listen you might prevent a few injries, but not many, and in the meantime you’re pissing a lot of them off. Skateboarders just want to be able to roll around and relax without being told what to do or having to pay $150 every time they step on a board.
On a side note, cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam don’t inforce helmets and have you seen how many people ride bikes there? It just doesn’t seem to be an issue anywhere else in the world so why are we Nova Scotians so up tight about it? Based on the way most other things seem to work in this province I’m pretty sure it’s not because we’re way ahead of the curve.
Since we’re already taking money from skateboarders couldn’t we agree to put the money to something productive like bike lanes, improving recreational facilities (eg further skateparks nobody uses), schools, whatever, just keep it away from things like kiddy ATV’s and dance dance revolution.
And to address some of the responses above:
1) I know people who HAVE left the province because of helmet laws (not many and they were gonna leave eventually anyway, but none the less),
2) Seriously, everyone whinning about footing the bill on skateboarders medical costs after they smash there heads in get over it, I bet it’s cost you know more than a few pennies of your “hard earned” tax dollars and if you’re so selfish that you wouldn’t spare that to save kids $150 a month then whatever. And while we’re all pretending we know something about the province and healthcare, I’m gonna say I’d rather put my tax dollars (as few as they may be) towards skateboarders with a split head than taking care of smokers or obeisse people, but unfortunately we don’t get to choose how other people lead there lives.
3) Pro skateboarders don’t wear helmets, that’s an uneducated statement, open a skateboard mag instead of watching ESPN and you’ll see that.
I say take on a rule like Ontario has, helmets ’til 16 then make your own choice. Thanks for all your responses and to Mr. Oliver for writting his letter.
-Eric
Well said Eric, this is absolutely the most intelligent response to Nate’s letter.
-Nacho