Mandatory helmet laws in Nova Scotia holding back bike sharing, advocate argues
By requiring riders to wear head protection, helmet laws hinder people from riding bikes for transportation
If there’s anything one can count on in the world of cycling, especially in commuting circles, it’s that someone, somewhere, is going to have a big problem with the idea of helmet use being required by law. A cursory glance at headlines or the maelstrom of social media is enough to demonstrate that the helmet debate, especially in Canada, isn’t going away anytime soon.
Recently, urban planner Tristan Cleveland made a case against Nova Scotia’s helmet laws in the Halifax Metro.
The context of the issue in Halifax, Cleveland says, is in the idea of bike sharing. Bike sharing—the kind seen in Toronto and Montreal, for example—has yet to come to the Nova Scotia city because of provincial laws mandating helmet use, something Cleveland calls “stupid.” More to the point, he argues, the matter is “frustrating” because helmet laws don’t make people safer, at least in Cleveland’s estimation.
Like many who disagree with helmet laws such as Nova Scotia’s, Cleveland believes that the regulations, in the long run, do more damage than they’re intended to prevent. “By discouraging people from biking,” he says, suggesting that being forced to wear a helmet is enough to keep a person out of the saddle, “the helmet law likely hurts people. The fewer people who bike, the more dangerous it is to bike because drivers pay less attention.”
“We only require helmets because of prejudice that biking is more dangerous than it is,” Cleveland says, while nonetheless conceding that a brain bucket helps in some collisions. Noting that cities like Tel Aviv, Israel have recently repealed their helmet laws, Cleveland further argues that it’s only when such laws are addressed—laws that are ultimately flawed, he says—that bike-sharing will be successful in cities like Truro.
“No system has ever been successful that forces people to either bring their own helmets or share them with strangers,” Cleveland writes.
What do you think? Are helmet laws a hindrance to bike sharing, or a necessary inconvenience in the name of safety? Sound off in the comments below.
