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Exploiting Tragedies

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It's a well known fact. Politicians here exploit personal tragedies for their selfish agenda. Those banners and wreaths at funeral wakes are just another venue for their advertising space.

Earlier we had one female eliciting campaign mileage from a hawker stall helper who was unfairly shamed about his tattered attire. Now we have another riding on the news of the sad demise of a young man who died from head injuries during the OCBC Cycle Singapore event.

As a cabinet minister of means, he could have demanded a proper accounting of the unnecessary death. Why was the steep slope of the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, designed for use as a high speed expressway, selected for a bicycle route? Initially reported as a crash, it is now attributed to a fall. Fall from a one meter height that resulted in a cracked skull, and blood clots that dealt the final blow.

Sid Tyler, a prominent member of the Pasadena City Council from 1997-2009, also fell on March 28, 2014, while riding his bicycle in Pasadena on Thursday. Neighbors said that Tyler was cycling on California Boulevard in Pasadena, signaled for a left turn and then lost his balance on his bike and crashed into the street. He was wearing a helmet. He sustained a severe neck injury in the accident, and was taken off life support on Friday at Huntington Hospital.

Someone should call for an audit of those bicycle helmets. One suspects those fancy headgear are more cosmetic than life saving. Earlier dominant "hairnet" style form of helmets offered acceptable protection from scrapes and cuts, but only minimal impact protection. Advances of the late 1990s and early 2000s in retention and fitting systems replaced the old system of varying thickness pads with cradles for more precise adjustment to the rider's head. It also resulted in the back of the head being less covered by the helmet.

Studies of helmet use by injured cyclists were published from the late 1980s, some in Australia, both before and after helmet legislation concluded both for and against the encouragement of bicycle helmet wearing and/or bicycle helmet legislation (McDermott et al, 1993, "The effectiveness of bicyclist helmets: a study of 1710 casualties", Journal of Trauma). This debate continues, apparently without consensus. At least this is healthier discourse than "remember to vote for me".
Former professional cyclist on descending Sheares Bridge


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