UPDATE ..on my no helmet ticket Victoria

[RetroPilot]

Surely if religious beliefs are more important than safety other things are too?

in my case, initially, with the police, even arguing that safety was more important than safety, failed..

[RetroPilot]

More importantly, I’ve claimed that it’s a clear indication that our regulators do not take our safety as seriously as they make out. How can our safety be paramount when an exemption can be claimed on religious grounds?

that's right...if safety is important and absolute enough to have laws on it, how can it not trump everything?

In fact, I see a concern there with those religious group exceptions. I wonder if it has already come up and been tried.
Case, in Madlandia (which is where we all live)
Minority X asserts his religious exemption from wearing helmet.
He crashes, incurs a head injury which helmet would have prevented, but religious headgear X did not.
He sues claiming that he was in fact discriminated against by being exempted from the protection of a law which protected everyone else.
You would think that this would fail on the basis that he was never denied the opportunity to comply if he wanted to, he was granted the right not to comply if he wanted to.
But there he is, with his head cracked, turban all bloody too, because of his membership of that religion.He was denied protection and safety mandated for almost everyone else, and suffered because of all of that.
He was denied his right to be forced to be safe, even though he wanted to be unsafe.
Yes, it's nuts, but we do live in Madlandia.

[fat and old]

Anyway....my fun with the authorities.

I was pulled up on Lake D in North East Victoria...yes, ON the lake....by a fisheries officer. Usual thing, how ya going, catch anything, can I look in your livewell etc. It's all ok, and I get a happy snap of being pulled over to add to my collection. Then he wants to know why my son and I are not wearing Life Jackets. I explain that my boat is over 4.8m, it's day time and there's no heightened danger. He says no, yoyur boat is a 4.6. No I reply, that's the model name. Measured correctly it's actually over 4.8m. (4.8m is the magic number for compulsory L/J's). No he says, the registered length is what counts, and takes my details with a "I'll look into it and see". Sure enough, I get a fine. I check and double check the regs, and opt for court. Three months later a phone call; it's maritime services wanting to know why I'm wasting everybody's time. I explain. He questions my method of measurement, and accepts that I seem to know how to measure the boat correctly. Still does not believe me, but does admit that it's the actual hull measurement and not the registered length that is required. I offer to tow it in to his office in the CBD to be checked. He declines. I wish him well and will meet in court. Call back 2 days later with a request to video the measurement. Take vid...boat is 4.805m. Submit. Call back....I'm not sure about this, I'll send it upstairs. 1 week later notified that fine is withdrawn.


5mm!

[RetroPilot]

amazing..so even though he admits that actual length trumps registered length , and boat model also denotes it's length, he still does not withdraw at that point...

I did not even know fisheries officers had all that power, re boats life-jackets etc..
...jesus things have changed since my childhood days 1960s fishing off of Townsville wharfs, and launching boats in that area and time.....

[fat and old]

TBH, I was happy to see the fisheries bloke. A few locals had a sustained rape of the Macca stocks in the 90's which saw them decimated and never recover. It was the first time I've ever seen them out and about. But yeah, fisheries are default maritime law enforcers hereabouts.


And I don't think Victoria has ever had the relaxed approach to boating/fishing that Qld has. First time at a Qld ramp I went into shock when I saw it was free and that the locals weren't arming up with fillet knives before trying to launch

[Thoglette]

He sues claiming that he was in fact discriminated against

Got the cite for that?

[RetroPilot]

And I don't think Victoria has ever had the relaxed approach to boating/fishing that Qld has. First time at a Qld ramp I went into shock when I saw it was free and that the locals weren't arming up with fillet knives before trying to launch

yep..never heard of boat ramp fees until I came back to Victoria in early adulthood...but I put it down to a matter of time as much as a matter of place, maybe...maybe not, after all.

[RetroPilot]

He sues claiming that he was in fact discriminated against

Got the cite for that?

I was pitching a hypothetical, that would not much surprise me if had happened..group member with helmet exemption sues govt when incurring cycling head injury...claims he was discriminated against and suffered injury by not being compelled to be safe.