Calif. may make bike helmets mandatory
By Lydia O’Connor, Huffington Post
Legislation that would make California the first state requiring adult bicyclists to wear helmets has some biking advocates worried the mandate would discourage people from becoming bike commuters.
A bill introduced last week by state Sen. Carol Liu, D-La Cañada Flintridge, would extend California’s youth helmet requirement to adults, mandate reflective clothing while biking at night and fine cyclists $25 for not complying.
Liu pointed to National Conference of State Legislatures claim that 91 percent of cyclists killed in 2009 were not wearing helmets. Research on the effectiveness of helmets, however, is spotty. One study suggests there have been fewer injuries in the 21 states with helmet laws for young riders, but another shows no effect.
Horse hockey!
California, get out of my FACE!! I am SO glad I am a Nevadan now.
ENOUGH!!!!!
And Dougla, it ain’t about the state. Are you proud Nevada has the highest rate of spousal abuse in the country? One of the highest unemployment rates? Ranks almost last in education? First in credit card delinquency? I can go on and on. Nevada get out of my.. Ah never mind they prob can’t read anyway.
Actually, Blue, it IS about the state. Unfortunately, too many Californians are leaving the mess they made of their own state and moving to NV to escape the taxes and crime, and are starting to vote for the exact same crap that destroyed their old homes.
Damn shame. Some people don’t learn from their mistakes.
The real issue here is not only making the activity of cycling more risk free from high cost head injuries or death, but also setting a good example for the up and coming bike riders…… our children. As a cyclist, too often I see the family out for a ride with the children safely incased in a helmet while the adult is not wearing one. I sometimes ask the children to ask their parents who is going to care for them if they have an accident and get a brain injury. Sigh, in reality it is to late for the stupid people have already procreated and their children who are now carrying their parents stupid gene are kept safe so they may procreate themselves.
It’s like guns, either everybody should have one or no one should have on. Natural selection will run its course over time.
Joe, please be quiet now. I’ll make sure everyone gets a trophy. You need to read up on the word ‘Liberty’.
Right on Joe.
A year ago in April while riding my bike and holding my large dogs leash on West Way my dog decided to stop short. I went over the handlebars smashed my chest and really thumped my head. NO Helmut! Fortunately nothing serious but I am now a believer.
You can pay your money and take your chances, but brain injuries have a way of seriously making life a lot less fun not to mention the effect on your family and friends.
Should it be mandated? That is the debate.
One other thing for you “ultra liberty and freedom folks. Seat belts and air bags have already saved hundreds of thousands of lives and millions of serious injuries.
Young children need a helmet because they may not have good control or acuity to stay in a safe place on the side of the road or they are more prone to fall down. On busy roads everyone should wear one. In the neighborhood streets and trails there is no need. Maybe they should just make common sense the law.
Tahoebluewire, which part of liberty should I study? Everybody packing guns or everyone who rides a bike wears a helmet?
Legal-
Riding a bike on streets while trying to control a large leashed dog is not the smartest thing you could do. Aside from the wisdom of helmets, did you learn anything about dogs leashed to a moving bike?
In my opinion, helmet laws should be mandatory not only for cyclists, but also for skiers, skaters,etc. It’s not so much a case of government interference or loss of citizen rights as it is about avoiding the devastating costs of a serious head injury.
In many cases, long after the insurance has stopped paying and the family savings has been depleted, the costs continue and are passed on to us, the taxpayers.
I write this as a person who has always been too vain and too foolish to wear a helmet while skiing. I m courting disaster every time I am on the slopes. However, if helmet laws were mandatory, I would have no choice but to wear one, thus possibly protecting me from serious injury and becoming a burden on my family to the State.
In my opinion, helmet laws should be mandatory not only for cyclists, but also for skiers, skaters,etc. It’s not so much a case of government interference or loss of citizen rights as it is about avoiding the devastating costs of a serious head injury.
In many cases, long after the insurance has stopped paying and the family savings has been depleted, the costs continue and are passed on to us, the taxpayers.
I write this as a person who has always been too vain and too foolish to wear a helmet while skiing. I m courting disaster every time I am on the slopes. However, if helmet laws were mandatory, I would have no choice but to wear one, thus possibly protecting me from serious injury and becoming a burden on my family to the State.
I wear a helmet when skiing and riding, but on those rare occasions when I want to toddle around the neighbor riding easy I’d like to have had freedom to do so, On warm easy ski days I’d like the same privilege.
can we please base our lives on personal responsibility as opposed to public oversight?
The “we need a law for this” crowd is turning America (CA especially) into a legalistic quagmire.
Sound like in 5 years you will have to wear a helmet to drive your car. Over half of all reported traumatic brain injurys are the result of automobile accidents.
Why in the world would someone not wear a helmet while biking? Maybe California is a nanny state, but riding without a helmet is just putting your life on the line for nothing.
Wear your helmet!
Looks like there are about 600 People killed on bicycles per year in America, about 50,000 reported injuries and 500,000 emergency room visits. Interesting that about 80% of the deaths and injuries on bikes are Males.
Head injuries and trauma are the most reported.
There are some claims by Government and Insurance Companies that helmet use reduces the risk of serious head injury by some 85%.
But the question is this, If you would want a 9 year old child or grandchild to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle, why not someone that is 40 years old?
Oh my God!!! Before you know it the police state will want the chosen ones to ride on the right side of the road and stop at stop signs.
When will the madness stop!!
The leading cause of police injuries is car crashes. I think they should ware helmets in the car at all times and be banned from talking on cell phones except for emergencies. Just think about all the savings to tax payers.
Dogula, you are right about them trying to escape the crime in Californi…..oh wait. For violent crime California isn’t even in the top ten. Nevada on the other hand is number 2 in 2013(up from three in 2012) Nevada: They have held #2 or #3 spot for a long time. I guess they are always on the podium.
You wear a helmet when you are in your own neighborhood or when tooling around for one simple reason. The pavement in front of your house is as hard as the pavement 10 miles away.
Kurt, you wear a helmet when you are on your neighborhood streets or when tooling around for one simple reason…..the pavement in front of you house is as hard as the pavement on a freeway.It is that simple.
“Before you know it the police state will want the chosen ones to ride on the right side of the road and stop at stop signs.” Sunrise, bicyclists on the road are required to abide by almost all of the same laws as cars. When they don’t, it usually leads to traffic congestion and accidents.
Rock, interesting statistics. They seem to reinforce the point that riding without a helmet is just plain foolish.
Kurt, you wear a helmet when you are on your neighborhood streets or when tooling around for one simple reason…..the pavement in front of your house is as hard as the pavement on a 10 miles away.It is that simple.
You wear a helmet when you are in your own neighborhood or when tooling around for one simple reason. The pavement in front of your house is as hard as the pavement 10 miles away.
More people are killed in car wrecks than from not wearing helmets when riding bikes.
Maybe Daddy-State needs to take away all your car keys. For your own safety, of course.
Dog. The average speed on a bicycle is 6-30mph and the average weight is 30 pounds. The average speed of a vehicle is 35-70mph and the average weight is 4000 pounds.
Vehicles have seat belts, air bags and other safety features not found on bicycles.
What happens to a 30 pound bicycle and a 4000 pound vehicle hitting each other at 30mph…
What happens to two 4000 pound vehicles hitting each other at 70mph…
BTY. In 2012, two-thirds or more of fatally injured bicyclists were not wearing helmets and California had the most deaths (by State) from Cyclists hitting Vehicles with 338.
Only YOU would take that as a serious proposal, and raise an argument.
Did I use an argumentative phrase such as but, however, Daddy State or such… Just purely academic questions that you might find on the Internet… with video.
?!?
I was being sarcastic. But since we brought up the subject. When was the last time an officer in the basin gave a bicyclists a ticket?
I can think of two. The first was the drunk woman who killed the pedestrian on the Donner Lake loop and the other was the bicyclists who ran someone down in the cross walk at Stateline.
In Southern California on a sunny weekend there are over are thousands of riders riding their single speed beach cruisers along the coast.
Considering most of them are dressed in nothing more than a swim suit and t-shirt I doubt mandating they wear a helmet and reflective clothing is going to be an easy sale in fact it could result in a riot.