No one is going to throw you in jail for not wearing a bicycle helmet, especially if there is no law dictating you must wear one. No federal law covers bicycle helmets. Helmet laws come from individual states, counties, cities or other municipalities -- and not every area even has laws regarding bike helmets. The penalty for not wearing a helmet is usually a fine, although you also can pay a high price for compromising your safety.
The Laws
Not every state has a helmet law and those that do generally apply only to bike riders under a specific age. As of April 2011, 21 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands had helmet laws, as did a number of cities, counties and other localities. Although state laws generally apply to riders under 15 or under 18, several of the city and local laws apply to riders of all ages.
Monetary Penalties
The penalty for failing to wear a bicycle helmet generally is a small fine. When the laws apply to minors, the parents or guardians usually are responsible for paying up -- at least in part. California law, for examples, imposes a $25 fine and holds the parents and the child jointly liable for the violation. North Carolina law plants the liability firmly on the parents or guardian with a $10 fine, although parents or guardians can get the fine waived if they show proof that they purchased a bicycle helmet.
Personal Injury
Even if you don't have to pay a fine for not wearing a helmet, you are at risk for bodily injury and even death if you don't wear one. Helmets do not prevent crashes, but they do absorb the shock and impact of a hard blow that would have otherwise slammed directly into your head. Over an extended period, helmet laws cut down on bicyclist fatalities by about 15 percent, according to a study published in the Summer 2004 issue of "Journal of Policy Analysis and Management." Researchers Darren Grant and Stephen Rutner came to this conclusion by analyzing the number of bicycle fatalities in states with helmet laws, a control group and data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
Considerations
A portion of the fines collected from bicycle helmet violations can go into specific funds to fuel bicycle-friendly programs. For example, California allocates 72.5 percent of the money collected from bicycle helmet violations to a county health department account that pays for bike, scooter, skateboard and skating safety education, and also helps low-income families buy bicycle helmets for their kids. Most cyclists -- 90 percent -- support helmet laws for children, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's August 2008 National Survey of Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes and Behavior. Only 62 percent, however, support bicycle helmet laws for adults.
References
- Governors Highway Safety Association; Helmet Laws; April 2011
- California Department of Motor Vehicles; Youth Bicycle Helmets: Minors; January 2003
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; National Survey of Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes and Behavior Summary Report; August 2008
- Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute; Helmet Laws for Bicycle Riders; January 2011
- North Carolina Department of Transportation; Child Bicycle Safety Act: Bicycle Helmet Law of North Carolina; November 2009
- "Journal of Policy Analysis and Management"; The Effect of Bicycle Helmet Legislation on Bicycling Fatalities; Darren Grant; Stephen Rutner, Summer 2004
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