Some California residents are grumbling about a proposed law that would require all bicyclists to wear a helmet. State Sen. Carol Liu, of L.A. County, introduced SB192 last week, which would make California the first state to require adult cyclists to wear a helmet. A $25 fine would be issued to all cyclists who fail to comply.
Cyclists under 18 have been required to wear helmets in California for more than 20 years. Liu says that nine out of every 10 cyclists killed in crashes were not wearing helmets. Still, some feel that more regulation is not the answer.
“It’s the wrong way to go,” Dave Snyder, head of the California Bicycle Coalition, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “California needs to do everything it can to increase bicycling. A helmet law puts up a barrier.”
Snyder argues that biking in California’s cities has gotten safer, citing that while the number of bicycle trips has nearly doubled, the number of accidents has only increased about 10 percent.
Jenn Stanley is a freelance journalist, essayist and independent producer living in Chicago. She has an M.S. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Follow Jenn .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Never Miss A StoryDownload our app