Bikers wear fruit shells to avoid helmet law

[Bluedresser1]

Looks like they need an Abate chapter!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090107/od_nm/us_bikers_odd_1

[mel]

I saw this in the Washington Times-you just can't make up stuff like this... 

NIGERIA
Bikers wear fruit instead of helmets

Police have arrested scores of motorcycle taxi riders with dried fruit shells, paint pots or pieces of rubber tires tied to their heads with string to avoid a new law requiring them to wear helmets.

The regulations have caused chaos around Africa's most populous nation, with motorcyclists complaining helmets are too expensive and some passengers refusing to wear them, fearing they will catch skin disease or be put under a black magic spell.

The law, which came into force on Jan. 1, pits two factions equally feared by the common motorist against one another: erratic motorcycle taxis known as "Okadas," whose owners are notorious for road rage, and the bribe-hungry traffic police.

Some bikers have used calabashes - dried shells of pumpkin-sized fruit usually used as a bowl - or pots and pans tied to their heads with string to try to dodge the rules. Construction workers have set up a lucrative trade renting out their safety helmets for around 500 naira ($3.60) a day.

Yusuf Garba, commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission in the northern town of Kano, said six months ago the price of helmets was below 800 naira. Helmet prices have since risen sharply as sellers cash in on demand.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/08/briefly-26357488/?page=2