RG wrote:SilverFox wrote: We pay too much for helmets here
I wonder wat's the fine for not wearing one with the AS sticker?
There is actually a perfectly explainable reason for why we pay more for helmets.
When a distributor brings a manufacturers helmets into the country, they may bring in, say, 1000 helmets. Out of that batch a percentage of those helmets need to be given to the testing people to ensure compliance with the Aus safety standards. This testing procedure is expensive. Last time I checked it's in the vacinity of 8 or $9,000!
And, every batch brought into the country needs to be tested. Some manufacturers make their helmets differently for eachmarket they supply to as not all markets have the same level of testing.
So, not only to they have to recoup the money spent on testing, but also the money spent on freight, advertising etc etc. If yhey have to recoup that money over batch of 1000, then obviosuly those helmets will cost more than someone importing say, 5,000 helmets into the US!
Ya with me? This is also why some of the fancier more expensive helmets are so expensive. They are probably only bringing a couple of hundred into the country.
RG, there is a fine. I don't know what it is in QLD. But, as has been explained elsewhere in this forum, it's not only the chance that you may get a fine, but also the insurance implications if you fall off and die or get brain damage.
Check my response here:
http://www.ksrc-au.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... c&start=15