Sign warning joggers to wear helmets is a running joke

^{By Eiddwen Jeffery}

A photograph of a street sign warning joggers to wear a helmet or face fines is satirical art, but it has been taken seriously by some social media users.

A police officer is pictured standing near the sign at Bondi Beach in NSW. The sign warns “NO HELMET = NO RUN” and instructs joggers to “log” their exercise for safety reasons on a purported government website.

The photograph first made its way onto social media six years ago and has been shared many times since. Last week the photograph resurfaced when a social media user shared it with the words “It’s incredible how cucked Australia is”. 

This post has now been reshared more than 8000 times on Facebook.

Another user commented: “I’ve heard off [sic] “better safe than sorry”, but this seems extreme!” Others praised the policy for helping to protect joggers. 

Some users did, however, comment that the sign was fake.

There is no NSW law requiring joggers to wear helmets. The only law found on the NSW legislation portal that applies specifically to joggers is under the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Regulation 2020. It requires joggers to stay on roads, paths or circuits or in a group of fewer than 10 when in the botanical gardens. 

The sign was part of an ongoing art campaign by NSW art duo Wowser Nation, who describe themselves as exploring “the Australian nanny state through subversive street art”. 

In a 2020 interview with the Guardian, the artists said the sign was created in 2016 and posted around Sydney beaches in 2017.

Wowser Nation’s Clary Akon told the Guardian that the posters were a protest against what he saw as a “tense and rule-bound” Sydney, citing regulations such as new outdoor alcohol restrictions and noise complaint laws.