What states have bicycle helmet laws?
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A bicycle helmet is like a best friend for a bike rider. Every rider should wear a helmet, because it protects the most important part of the body. However, people are stubborn and don’t want to wear a helmet. That is why some countries or states have clear laws to force people to wear bike helmets.
In the US, there are a total of 21 states and 201 localities that have bicycle helmet laws. Most of these laws only require a specific age group to wear bicycle helmets. This age group is below the age of 18, although in some states it is mandatory for adults to wear helmets too.
The state law varies greatly from states and localities. Your country could have different helmet laws. Now whatever that is, I am sure you need to know what states have these bicycle helmet laws? Well I am here to answer all the questions regarding this topic.
When did wearing a bicycle helmet become a law?
It was back in the 1980’s when wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle became a helmet. At that time manufacturers were getting reports suggesting that wearing a helmet while bike riding reduced the chance of injuries. As bicycles became more popular at that time, manufacturers realized that bike helmets protect riders from serious head injuries.
Helmet manufacturers saw this as a massive sales opportunity. So, they pushed their sales claiming all the benefits of wearing bike helmets and how good of a product they were.
In the 1990’s bike helmets faced a massive change in design which has been carried out to the present. However the materials did not change. Manufacturers have been using polystyrene since the 1970’s.
As the bike helmet design improved and protection became a necessity, implying laws to wear a helmet while riding became a necessity as well. This gave an institute named Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute the opportunity to push helmet laws to be adopted in 1987.
California was the first state in the US to propose this bicycle helmet law in 1986. This took one year to be published and adopted. However the law was only applicable for children, which was changed to people under the age 18 in 1994.
Now almost 21 states and 202 localities in the US have bicycle helmet laws. These laws don’t apply to adults.
If you are more interested about this kind of history stuff, then go to this link. They have literally everything about bike helmets.
Which countries or states have mandatory bike helmet laws?
Mostly countries where bicycle riding is popular have mandatory bicycle helmet laws. The first country to enact a bicycle helmet law was Australia. Now more than 48 countries have mandatory bicycle helmet laws.
Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, United Kingdom, Sweden, India and many more countries have bicycle helmet laws. Now whether you live in these countries or not, the laws only apply to children.
Children up to 13 years of age must wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. In some countries, this age range is up to 18 years. In some countries it also includes people over 50 years of age.
Different countries have different rules about helmet use. And the punishment people get for not following these laws is just a fine.
If you are living in the USA you will find that about 21 states of America have active bicycle helmet laws. The law is active only in these states and the District of Columbia. The law only implies to young riders under the age of 18 or 16 in some states.
However, there are 13 states that do not require a rider to wear a helmet. Regardless of their age, helmet usage is voluntary in these states: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Utah, Vermont and many more.
Even though the law is mandatory in states where it implies, it can still vary depending on localities. By the way, if you are looking for a helmet, try the PHZ Adult bike helmet.
Why do mandatory bike helmet laws make cyclists less safe?
Apparently, the law that was meant to keep riders on the street safe is actually doing the opposite. The bicycle helmet law was supposed to decrease the number of fatalities on the street from bicycle accidents. However, ever since its adoption that number has only increased.
These are due to the negative effects of the bicycle helmet laws. These negative effects are making the streets even more unsafe for riders. Just in the U.S alone, there have been nearly 40 thousand death reports from bicycle accidents on the road.
I will discuss the negative effects of the bicycle helmet laws below. So, you can see for yourself why it is not safe.
- Reduction in the number of bike riders
As I have mentioned earlier, Australia was the first country to adopt mandatory bicycle helmet laws. When they enforced this law, the number of cyclists on the streets dropped. I don’t know the exact reason, but it might be that people didn’t want to ride their bike wearing a helmet.
As the number of cyclists dropped, the “safety in numbers” effect became weak as well. For those few bike riders the streets were dangerous amidst other vehicles.
Let me explain the “safety in numbers” concept. Basically you are more safe when you are with other people. Just like wild animals like deers, zebras or elephants. Those who stay together survive in the wild. It’s the one who gets separated and becomes the prey.
- Being targeted as invulnerable
It has been seen that riders who wear a helmet, become a victim on the streets of other vehicles. Riders that wear all the cycling gears on the street while riding are seen as professionals by other drivers.
By other vehicle drivers I mean, private care drivers, delivery truck drivers or van drivers. It has been noticed that whenever these drivers spot a professional looking bicycle rider, they tend to get careless. Even I have faced situations where they would literally push me to the corner and take my space on the road.
They sort of treat bike riders as flies, bugging a giant creature. It was even brought up in a documentary and when they asked these drivers what was going through their minds? They simply replied it was instinct. Instinctively, they thought that riders could take care of themselves in those situations.
Not only that, even riders who wear a helmet feel ballsy. They tend to take risky routes. Researchers call this behavior the “risk compensation psychology”.
- Floundered bike sharing systems
This one is easily understandable. As the number of bike riders decreased on the streets, the need for bike sharing also dropped. Popular bike sharing systems struggled financially.
In the cities of Australia and in Seattle and Washington, the floundering of bike sharing systems was most noticeable.
These were the most noticeable negative effects of the bicycle helmet laws. This is the reason why now it is not mandatory for riders to wear a helmet while riding. The law only implies till a certain age. It doesn’t apply to adults. They are basically trying to make helmet wearing voluntary again.
Pros of bicycle helmet legislation
The advantages or benefits of the bicycle helmet legislation should be obvious to everyone. However, the reality is far from the expectation. From all the discussions above we have realized that bicycle helmet law has tremendous negative effects on the average riders. Still, it has some good features.
| Content | Description |
| Protection | The bicycle helmet law was adopted to ensure protection for the riders. Since accidents could happen anytime, making it mandatory to wear a helmet will increase the chances of staying protected. |
| Reminder | To further ensure that people wear a helmet while riding, a police inquiry was added. The police were also instructed to charge fine to anyone who was not wearing a helmet while riding a bike. |
| Pursue Sales | A good reason for the bicycle helmet law to be adopted was to increase bicycle helmet sales. It was the helmet manufacturers who supported this law in the first place as they saw opportunity in it. |
These were the limited pros I could find about the bicycle helmet legislation. To be honest the negatives of the helmet law was much more noticeable. I will talk about that in the next section.
Cons of bicycle helmet legislation
Now comes the good part of the topic. The bicycle helmet law had a lot of negative effects. It was rushed and it was not well planned when it first came out. Australia was the first country to experience its problems. Here I will list a few cons of the helmet law from Australia’s perspective.
| Content | Description |
| Absurdity | Freestyle cyclists or average people like us don’t want to wear a helmet when they are utility cycling. Who would want to wear a helmet when they are just cycling around the block? There is literally no chance of serious injury there. |
| Discouragement | Most people do not like helmets because helmets are not fashionable. To some, a helmet ruins their outfit or does not match with their outfit. Now, think of forcing someone to wear a helmet who is just using his or her bike to go on a date. Imagine what would happen? They would literally stop riding a bike.Normal people like us don’t want to wear a helmet all the time. We are not at risk all the time. For these reasons the bicycle helmet law actually discouraged people to ride bikes. |
| Reduced Safety | As people stopped riding bikes, the number of people on the streets riding bikes decreased. This made bike riding not so safe for those who had to ride a bicycle to get to work or somewhere. I explained this effect on the negative effects part above. The bicycle helmet law reduces the “safety in number” for lone riders on the street. |
| Police Interaction | Adding police interaction was the dumbest thing in the bicycle helmet law. Cycling is a fun and healthy activity. People just do not use a cycle to travel or commute, they use it to exercise as well. Even if they don’t use it for exercise, it is a healthy way to move around.Imagine getting stopped by the police for doing something that is good for you. Getting stuck in an interaction with the police for not wearing a helmet during your healthy physical activity. |
| Absurd Fines | Now, imagine getting fined for doing something that is healthy for you. It is even more absurd when the fine amount is high. |
I hope now you understand why no one liked the bicycle helmet law. This is the reason why the helmet legislation is not adopted in every country of the world. Everyone should have the freedom to ride a bicycle the way they want.
If everyone rides a bicycle on the street, the number of accidents related to injuries will automatically decrease. If this happens, then helmet laws won’t be necessary to ensure protection. Also people are smart enough to understand their safety in my opinion.
F.A.Q.s
Is wearing a bicycle helmet a law?
Yes, wearing a bicycle helmet is a law, because in most countries people are reluctant to wear a helmet. The developed countries like the USA have bicycle helmet laws.
When did wearing a bicycle helmet become a law?
In the year 1986 a helmet law was proposed for the safety of bicycle riders on the streets. However, it took a year and in 1987 a bicycle helmet law was published and it applied only to 5 year old children. From then, changes after changes brought these laws to the present state.
Can I bike without a helmet?
Yes you can and it is absolutely ok. But when you get injured from a bicycle accident, don’t tell us that we didn’t warn you.
Conclusion
Bicycle helmet laws are for our safety obviously, but there is one underlying problem. Bicycle helmet laws discourage people to ride their bikes.
Bicycle helmet laws force people to wear a helmet while riding their bike. Apparently people don’t like to be forced to wear a helmet while riding a bike. As a result, in a few states people have stopped riding their bikes to avoid wearing a helmet.
This turned out to be a problem rather than a solution. Now, the only solution is to encourage enough riders to ride again. The roads will be much safer with more riders instead of wearing a helmet.
So, I hope knowing what states have bicycle helmet laws will help you understand their situation and condition. If they have strict helmet laws then it means people will ride less often. If the law only implies younger age and not adults, then expect more people riding their bikes on the streets.
