Cycling in Waterloo Region

[danbrotherston]

Why are police giving advice, anyway? Bicycling without a helmet is not an offence; operating a vehicle without sufficient care is.

Edit: I say this because plenty of people erroneously think cyclists are required to wear helmets. That is reinforced when police are quoted in articles suggesting it in the same way as they suggest that people pay attention while driving.

I'd say they are giving advice, to protect life.  It's part of their job.

Is locking your doors and windows, walking in groups or hiding your valuables a law?  No, but it is common advice to prevent crime.  When the police are at the mall handing out "Lock it or lose it" cards when they are checking for unlocked vehicles and valuable items, no one thinks its anything other than giving good advice.  I'd say the bike helmet comments are the same.

I'm pretty sure the police encouraged people to wear seat belts before they were mandatory....

Coke

It is important to look at the context of the advice.

I don't think the police should respond to break and enter with "you should probably lock your doors" either.  

That being said, I would still argue that victim blaming is a much more serious problem when it comes to cycling and helmets than it is with locking your doors.  While I'm sure plenty of people would say "well you should have locked your doors", none of those people would argue against police presence or other safety measures in addition to locking one's door, as they do without fail when there's a cyclist involved collision.