I did not say that rights can only be conferred by statute. Many rights have grown organically over the centuries in the English common law, sometimes known as judge made law. A good example is the law making slavery illegal in England, by means of the 1772 judgment of Lord Chief Justice Mansfield in the case of the slave James Somersett. You are right, there is always a good deal of muddling along involved.
Stevie - I agree entirely. Day one, lesson one, of any conflict resolution training is - take off your sunglasses so that the other person can see your face clearly... This does, however, link into the "why should I take off my helmet at the petrol station?" argument. Surely the logical conclusion of this legislation would be that it will be illegal to walk into a petrol station whilst still wearing a helmet? I forsee the whole "human rights" argument becoming very complicated in this case...
My question was really aimed at a one-off offence. Get caught doing 130mph. Camera not roadside stop. That would cost you your license, bigger fine and possibly jail, and therefore is the sentence enough to trip a trigger for Art 6?
I see a judge has ruled in a case at blackfriars crown court that a Muslim woman can wear her niqab in court but must remove it if called to give evidence. i think that's pretty fair, but no there are those that are not happy, banging on about human rights etc. As pete said though, in the evidence giving process facial expressions can convey as much a message as the words spoken, sometimes possibly different messages to the words spoken.
Bradders - the key to this one, as proved on Top Gear, is that if you want to go past speed cameras at licence-loosing speeds do it at over 168mph - that way you are out of shot before the camera actually triggers... ( not that I could possibly condone that sort of anti-social behaviour... )
Yes that’s a good point. I wonder if any of the good folk posting on this thread against the burka are the same people who have argued that they should not have to remove their helmets at the petrol station. To be absolutely fair I’m not too keen on women walking around hiding behind a burka but I not sure that I’d be happy to be asked to remove my helmet at the petrol station: now that is hypocrisy at its very best! That said, if I had to do more than just hand over cash at the station I would remove my helmet as a matter of curtsey.
Whoops! Let me assure everyone that I do not go into petrol stations and curtsy to the attendants. I do show them some courtesy though
Its not hypocrisy, its convenience. If every bike rider took their lid off, filled up, queued, paid, helmet back on, gloves, start and ride off, the pumps would be stacked out for ages waiting. Go into a bank, or shopping etc then there is no reason not to remove and same principles apply While we are on it, I'd support banning peolpe using phones while buying stuff! Ignorant b'tards
I have a flip front helmet and always raise it at petrol stations, if I had a conventional full face I think I would remove it voluntarily.
This is muddling different issues together. If I went to pay for fuel wearing a full-face helmet, and the petrol station insisted I remove it, I would be rather annoyed at the needless interference and I might choose not to go there again. But I would NOT claim to have a legal right to keep my helmet on at all times, or claim the garage was breaching my human rights.
Some may claim it as a right, as its a freedom right to dress how you choose. Of course what this really says is you MUST be a criminal as you want to cover your face. If you've got nothing to hide...bla bla bla
I don't have a problem removing my helmet at petrol stations. It can be a faff, but I wouldn't expect to really do any other business with it on. It is just a question of courtesy. If it's too much faff (balaclava underneath, tucked into a scarf which is tucked into leathers) I go and find an automatic pump where I don't have to go in to pay.
im from northern Ireland and demand the right to wear a balaclava its a religious thing apparently ??????
