But have found that almost any helmet that feels ok at first, but then has pressure points, will again feel ok after wearing it enough. Within some tolerance, it will take on the shape of your head. The question is how much pain before it does.
In my case, giving it two years is probably way more that most people would. And when pain reaches nausea levels, it really does screw up a ride.
The other thing that screws up a ride beyond all tolerance is being stuck on the F'ing Interstate in hot weather, not moving. After dozens of minutes go by and you are dizzy, drenched, exhausted, and about to throw up from dehydration and heat stroke, you are willing to do just about anything.... including riding on the shoulder with tons of debris, risking falling, risking being ticketed, being scorned at by the drivers in their air-conditioned palaces, to get to the next exit.
but that's the joy of riding, filtering through all the stationary traffic
Here it is illegal.
move to a civilised state/country then
Like one that has countless thousands of speed cameras?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_speed_limit_enforcement_in_the_United_Kingdom
MD has them all over the place plus red light ones too. In going through TN they have red light cameras. I'm also thinking No. VA has them. I would like my county to put red light cameras on our traffic light to our subdivision as that one is run all the time.
I don't have any issues with either red light cameras or speeding cameras. At least it's just a fine and doesn't go on your record.
That said the ones that are a real bummer are the average speed cameras.
Creeping featurism. Politicians and regulators always promise things will never be used for "other purposes", just what they were originally designed to do. People reluctantly give up their privacy and rights in exchange for "safety", and then once people are used to that level, equipment then mutates to the next level. Then the next. Then the next.
Once the gate is opened, it is much harder to control what goes through it.
<snip>
I don't have any issues with either red light cameras or speeding cameras. At least it's just a fine and doesn't go on your record.
I have never seen a speed camera in VA and research shows there are none.
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/automated_enforcement/enforcementtable?topicName=speed
Actually, any type of non-manned ticketing system is unconstitutional in VA (witnessing officer must ticket personally), but they do it anyway with red light cameras. (As typical, they passed legislation without consulting the VA Constitution, and when it was pointed out, nobody seemed to care and I guess it has never been challenged enough).
I don't like either. Especially red light cameras, which probably cause more accidents than they prevent. Both are abused as money makers and privacy invaders.
That said the ones that are a real bummer are the average speed cameras. Up until recently on a motorcycle they weren't really an issue as they took pictures from the front (as the front plate is generally cleaner & more legible than the rear one) and there are no front plates on a bike, sadly a number of areas are now putting in average speed cameras that use the rear plate
We have a fix for that one- a license plate cover that is made of horizontal louvers. Looked at from straight or a shallow angle, the louvers cannot be seen; viewed from any higher position and the plate cannot be seen.
Now that we are talking about this, how to the gendarmes catch you folks speeding in the UK? Here there are three general methods, clocking (LEO trailing you, matching speed), radar and laser. Clocking is not much of a problem except for the foolish or drunk, radar can usually be detected and avoided (although illegal in <I believe> 9 states, and anywhere in the US on trucks over a certain tonnage) but laser is really tough. A laser detector goes off at the same instant the cop gets the reading and really only serves to notify you you will be chatting with someone in a uniform shortly. Now laser CAN be jammed but it is expensive although some units are very effective. There are a whole lot of 'snakeoil' things that are supposed to ward off laser but all have proven ineffective so far. Different areas of the country use different methods but radar is about dead in southern New England and laser is the 'weapon of choice', and as I said, just about impossible to avoid without active jamming.
We also have spotter aircraft but they are in very limited use other than occasionally hanging over our larger cities.
Brian
Pretty much the same as over there.
As well as the fixed cameras therre are also (S)camera vans with laser cameras(which in many places are operated by the local authorities rather than the police). Random checks may also be set up with Laser guns, radar isnt quite so common over here AFAIK.
In some (mainly rural areas there are also community initiatives whereby local residents may be given training in operating a handheld device and whilst you cant be prosecuted off the back of those you may have someone coming to have a friendly chat with you about your driving.
On vehicle checks using VASCAR (incidentally invented by a resident of Virginia) plus nearly all Police vehicles are equipped these days with ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) which gives the operator an immediate readout on the tax,MOT & insurance status plus is used, also flags up if a vehicle is of interest.
Vehicles (cars or bikes) can either be fully marked or completely unmarked .
Helicopters are frequently used in many areas as a spotter to call in ground based crews (although they can also calculate speed directly as many roads have large white squares painted on them for use with ground/air based vascar) especially if they are having a crackdown in a specific area. North Wales Police are bastards for using them to catch bikers which is why a grey overcast day with low cloud is a good day to go riding in North Wales
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_speed_limit_enforcement_in_the_United_Kingdom
All the same here- small world.
Except the citizenry getting involved in any way: we do not have that that I know of. I am speaking of citizen linked to in any way police, not private citizens providing security service(s).
Brian