Cyclists between the ages of 18 and 19 the least likely to wear helmets in Canada: Statistics Canada report

According to a report published today by Statistics Canada, helmets seem to be as popular as ever for young cyclists — in other words, not as much as they should be.

In places where the use of helmets is legislated and mandatory for any age group, youths who always wear them nonetheless accounted for only half of the surveyed cycling population, give or take. Those provincial jurisdictions are in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, while helmets are mandatory only for youths under 18 in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta.

In the latter category of provinces, 42.5% of young respondents said that they always wear helmets. British Columbia, meanwhile, reported 56.8%, New Brunswick 43.5%, Nova Scotia 50.9%, and Prince Edward Island topped the list at 61.1%. Among surveyed cyclists in provinces where no helmet use is required by law, regardless of age, only 23.5% of youth between the ages of 12 and 17 checked in as routine users.

Cyclists between the ages of 18 and 19, the report added, were the least likely overall to wear head protection on their bikes.

The report, the Canadian Community Health Survey, covered a study period from 2013 to 2014. Young cyclists certainly weren’t unique in the study with their low helmet use, though. Out of all cyclists, 12 years of age or older — some 11.9 million Canadians — only 42% reported regularly wearing them.