Mandatory Helmet Laws - Position Statement
Mandatory Helmet Laws - Position Statement
Bike Edmonton recognizes that helmets can save lives and encourages cyclists to wear them.
Bike Edmonton opposes mandatory helmet laws for adults. Such laws restrict the freedom of people participating in a normal, overwhelmingly healthy activity that benefits both the participant and society. They create an unnecessary barrier to an active lifestyle. Increased safety is better achieved by improving infrastructure and educating drivers and cyclists on how to use the roads properly.
- (there has been talk of writing a broader statement on safety in general)
The evidence that mandatory helmet use improves public health at the population level is marginal. Studies showing such benefits are usually narrow in focus and fail to weigh the benefit of helmet use against the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and other factors. This article introduces some of the problems with mandatory helmet laws from a health policy perspective: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1410838/.
Bike Edmonton is not opposed to mandatory helmet laws for children.
Adherence to Position Statement Policy
Does the statement clarify our vision for cycling in Edmonton?
yes
Do we wish to actively advocate on this issue, and/or do we require a response to it?
yes
Does it reflect our tradition of non-partisanship?
yes
Does it cohere with all existing position statements?
yes
Dates of Effect
not yet in effect
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