The requirement to wear bicycle helmets in the United States varies by jurisdiction and by age of the cyclist, for example 21 states and the District of Columbia have statewide mandatory helmet laws for children. 29 US states have no statewide law, and 13 of these states have no such laws in any lower-level jurisdiction either.
Importance States began to adopt laws on wearing helmets for bicycle riding in 1987. There are a total of 22 state laws for bicycle helmets and 201 local laws. Each year about 2% of motor vehicle crash deaths are bicyclists. In a majority of bicyclist deaths, the most serious injuries are to the head. Helmet use has been estimated to reduce the odds of head injury by 50%, and the odds of head, face, or neck injury by 33%.
Protection Helmet laws reduce fatalities from bicycle accidents by about 15% in the long run. There is no evidence that shows laws requiring children to wear helmets increases adult use. Through 2000, existing helmet laws have saved 130 lives.
Effects The state of New York reported that since it had introduced its second helmet law in 1994 for riders under 14, the annual rate of cyclists hospitalized from bicycle-related traumatic brain injuries fell from 464 in 1990 to 209 in 1995. There is no way to determine exactly what proportion of the improvement was due to helmet laws, since there is no data on improvements to bicycle facility safety, rider education or total miles ridden in those years, and helmet promotion campaigns by Safe Kids Worldwide and others were active in the state.
Helmet recalls By law, all helmets sold in the U.S. must meet standards set by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). There were two helmet recalls in the year 2000. A helmet made by Rand International of Farmingdale, NY was voluntarily recalled and involved 70,000 helmets known as "L.A. Cruisin' Bike Helmets" in child, youth and adult sizes. The CPSC's press release for the recall was, "These helmets fail impact testing and labeling required under CPSC’s Safety Standard for Bicycle Helmets violating the Consumer Product Safety Act. Riders wearing these helmets are not properly protected from falls and could suffer severe head injuries…" The other helmet was a girl's helmet with decals reading "Hearts and Flowers." It was voluntarily recalled by Cycle Express Inc., of New York, NY, who had sold about 9,000 of them. The CPSC released a similar press release statement, “These helmets fail impact testing and labeling required under CPSC’s Safety Standard for Bicycle Helmets violating the Consumer Product Safety Act. Riders wearing these helmets are not adequately protected from falls and could suffer severe head injuries or death…”
Laws by jurisdiction
Laws by JurisdictionJurisdictionAgesEffectiveAlabamaState lawUnder 161995MontevalloAll ages1993HomewoodAll ages1994AlaskaAnchorageUnder 162005BethelUnder 182004JuneauUnder 182006KenaiUnder 162004SitkaUnder 182005ArizonaFlagstaffUnder 182010Pima CountyUnder 181995Sierra VistaUnder 181995TucsonUnder 181993YumaUnder 181997CaliforniaState LawPassengers under 51987State LawRiders under 181994State LawUnder 18 * Scooters, skateboards, inline skates2003Bidwell Park, Chico for off-road in middle&upper parkAll ages1991ConnecticutState LawUnder 161993/1997City of Seymour (Repealed 1998)All ages1998DelawareState LawUnder 18 *1996District of ColumbiaDistrict LawUnder 16 *2000/04FloridaState LawUnder 16 **1997GeorgiaState LawUnder 161993HawaiiState LawUnder 162001IllinoisBarringtonUnder 171997Chicago (messengers)All agesCiceroUnder 161997InvernessUnder 161999Libertyville (Incentives only)1997SkokieUnder 162002KansasLawrenceUnder 16 *2004KentuckyLouisville (Parks)Under 18 *2002Louisville Extreme ParkAll ages2002LouisianaState LawUnder 122002MaineState LawUnder 161999MarylandState LawUnder 16 *1995Allegany CountyUnder 161992Howard CountyUnder 161990Montgomery CountyUnder 181991SykesvilleAll ages1995MassachusettsState LawPassengers under 51990State LawRiders under 17 *1994/2004MichiganAdrianUnder 151998E. Grand RapidsUnder 181995Farmington HillsUnder 16 *1999Kensington MetroparkAll ages1998MississippiHernandoUnder 17 *2010JacksonAll ages?2013Ridgeland???2010StarkvilleAll ages *2010MissouriSt Louis County1 to 16 *Unincorp. areas 2002 Countywide 2008St Louis County municipalities of: - - -BallwinUnder 172006Bel-RidgeAll ages2002Bella VillaUnder 172005Bellefontaine NeighborsUnder 172005BerkeleyAll ages2000Black JackAll ages2008Calverton ParkAll ages2001ChesterfieldUnder 172008ClaytonUnder 172005Creve CoeurAll ages2000EllisvilleUnder 172005FlorissantUnder 172003GlendaleAll ages2008Grantwood VillageAll ages2003Hanley HillsUnder 172007HazelwoodUnder 172007HillsdaleMoline AcresUnder 172008NormandyUnder 172004NorthwoodsUnder 172003Norwood CourtUnder 172004OlivetteUnder 17*2005OverlandUnder 172005PagedaleAll ages2002RiverviewUnder 172008Rock HillUnder 172003St. JohnUnder 172001Sycamore HillsAll ages2008Town & CountryAll ages2002Velda CityAll ages2006Velda Village HillsAll ages2005Vinita TerraceUnder 212001Webster GrovesUnder 172004WellstonWilber ParkUnder 172005WildwoodUnder 172005St Louis Co ParksUnder 172001 - - - - - - - - -Municipalities inother countiesColumbiaUnder 16 *2003St CharlesUnder 162006MontanaBillingsUnder 162001NevadaDuckwater Indian ReservationUnder 172001Reno/Sparks Indian ColonyUnder 172002New HampshireState LawUnder 162006New JerseyState LawUnder 17 *1992/05New MexicoState LawUnder 18 *2007Los Alamos CountyUnder 181995New YorkState LawPassengers under 51989State LawRiders under 14*1994/2004EastchesterUnder 19 *2004Erie County ParksAll ages1993GreenburghAll ages1994GuilderlandUnder 141992Onondaga County-SyracuseUnder 182001Rockland CountyAll ages1992Suffolk County14 to 172000North CarolinaState LawUnder 162001Black MountainAll ages1996BooneAll ages1995Carolina BeachUnder 161994CarrboroUnder 161997CaryUnder 162001Chapel HillUnder 161992CharlotteUnder 16 *2002CorneliusUnder 16 *2001GreenvilleUnder 161998MatthewsUnder 162001OhioAkronUnder 162001BeachwoodUnder 161990BexleyUnder 162010Blue AshUnder 162003BrecksvilleUnder 18 *1998BrooklynUnder 142001CentervilleUnder 181999CincinnatiUnder 16 *2004ColumbusAges 1–17 *2009DaytonUnder 132004East ClevelandUnder 18 *2004EnonUnder 16 *2004EuclidUnder 142001GlendaleUnder 19 *2000KetteringUnder 16 *2004LakewoodUnder 181997MadeiraUnder 17 *2002MariettaUnder 16 *2004Orange VillageAges 6 to 151992Pepper PikeUnder 182000Shaker HeightsAll ages over 5 inc. passengers1997South EuclidUnder 142000StrongsvilleUnder 121993WaynesvilleUnder 17 *2000OklahomaNormanUnder 182003Oklahoma City (city property)All ages1999OregonState LawUnder 16 *1994PennsylvaniaState LawRiders under 121995Rhode IslandState LawUnder 16 *1996/ 1998/ 2007TennesseeState LawUnder 161994/2000ClarksvilleUnder 161993TexasArlingtonUnder 181997AustinUnder 181996/97BedfordUnder 161996BenbrookUnder 171996CoppellUnder 151997DallasUnder 181996/2014Fort WorthUnder 181996HoustonUnder 181995SouthlakeUnder 151999Virginia ****Albemarle CountyUnder 15AlexandriaUnder 151994Amherst CountyUnder 151993Arlington CountyUnder 151993BlacksburgUnder 151994Clarke CountyUnder 15Fairfax CountyUnder 151993Fairfax CityUnder 152016Falls ChurchUnder 151993Floyd CountyUnder 15Front RoyalUnder 151996HamptonUnder 151999HarrisonburgUnder 15James City CountyUnder 151999LurayUnder 15ManassasUnder 151995Manassas ParkUnder 151997Newport NewsUnder 151997NorfolkUnder 152001Orange CountyUnder 15PetersburgUnder 152000Prince William Co.Under 151995RadfordUnder 152000RoanokeUnder 152000SalemUnder 152000Stafford CountyUnder 15ViennaUnder 15Virginia BeachUnder 151995WilliamsburgUnder 152001WiseUnder 15York CountyUnder 151994Washington StateAberdeenAll ages2001AuburnAll ages2005Bainbridge IslandAll ages2001BellevueAll ages2002BremertonAll ages2000Des MoinesAll ages1993DuPontAll agesDuvallAll ages1993EatonvilleAll ages1996EnumclawAll ages1993FircrestAll ages1995Gig HarborAll ages1996Hunts PointAll ages1993Island County (Recommendation only.)All ages1997KentAll ages1999King County Repealed in 2022All ages1993LakewoodAll ages1996MiltonAll ages *1997OrtingUnder 171997Pierce CountyAll ages1994Port AngelesAll ages1994Port OrchardAll ages2004PoulsboUnder 181995PuyallupAll ages1994RentonAll ages1999SeatacAll ages over 1 yr1999SeattleAll ages2003Snohomish repealedAll ages2002Snohomish skate park onlyAll ages2002SnoqualmieAll ages1996SpokaneAll ages *2004SteilacoomAll ages1995Tacoma Repealed in 2020All ages *1994University PlaceAll ages1996VancouverAll ages2008West VirginiaState LawUnder 151996ClarksburgUnder 181993MorgantownAll ages1993South CharlestonUnder 181994St. AlbansUnder 181995WisconsinPort WashingtonUnder 171997
See also Bicycle law in the United States Bicycle helmet laws Bicycle helmet laws by country
References