Do you think bicycle helmets should be mandatory?
By patgalca
@patgalca (18181)
Orangeville, Ontario
July 6, 2007 3:53pm CST
What about when riding a skateboard or scooter? I hate seeing kids riding around town without bicycle helmets on, especially when it's my daughter's friends because if they don't wear one then she feels she doesn't have to wear one. My cousin works as a nurse in a hospital and she can tell some stories about kids falling off their bikes that weren't wearing helmets.
It is my understanding that it is THE LAW that the kids wear bicycle helmets. Last week my husband took my daughter and the little boy across the street for a bike ride. Both kids were wearing helmets. I was surprised when my daughter walked in the door and said she got a helmet ticket. But it was a good ticket. She and the other boy got ticketed for WEARING helmets. The ticket entitled them to a free sundae at Dairy Queen and then their name goes into a draw for a bicycle. How cool is that?
I think it is great that they are encouraging the use of helmets this way, but why aren't they ticketing those kids who AREN'T wearing helmets when it is THE LAW?
Your thoughts?
5 people like this
5 responses
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Aug 07
They should be mandatory, especially for children. I know years ago, no one wore helmets and I fell off my bicycle a couple of times. Luckily it was a woman's bicycle so I did not have to fall far and I was able to catch myself, but what if it had been a man's one with the bar? I liked that idea of a ticket for wearing helmets and getting treated to a free sundae at Dairy Queen! That bicycle draw is a good idea! The helmets nowaydays come in so many colors so there is no need for girls to feel embarrassed by wearing them. They should ticket the ones not wearing helmets, and maybe take them to hospitals so they can see what happens to those who do not.
2 people like this
@eprado (1467)
• Philippines
22 Aug 07
Yes, I think it should be mandatory to wear helemts when riding bicycle, skateboard or scooter. Yes its fun riding them but we have to be sure to be safe because this fun rides are accident prone. One hit and boom, your head might come crashing to the ground and without helmet on it's pretty risky.
I think they should enforce the law strictly, because if they let someone getaway with it, soon all kids might think that its a joke and would not totally follow it.
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
15 Sep 07
I think cyclists, motorcyclists, people on skateboards, scooters and other such vehicles should all have to wear helmets. Why do people object to things that are put in place to protect them? Is it more important the way the helmet looks, or how it works? Are people really that shallow?
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
9 Jul 07
I've been cycling for more than 40 years and have never worn a helmet. I also object to governments passing nanny laws like the compulsory wearing of cycle helmets. Personal safety should be the responsibility of the individual and not something that is imposed by government diktat. As far as children are concerned, it is the responsibility of the parents to see that they wear safety equipment if it's appropriate for them to do so, not the government. Safety is also a matter of training as well, not only training in how to ride, but how to ride safely.
1 person likes this
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
6 Jul 07
Yes I do Think it should be a law and the law should be enforced. Around here we do have it as a law that children need to wear helmets up to a certain age but I still see many without. Positive reinforcement, like the ice cream tickets, really goes far with the older kids. With the younger ones I think if they start out wearing a helmet from the time they start trying to ride then it's not as big of an issue to get them to wear them. We just got a new helmet for our two year old because he got a tricycle and has been trying to ride it.
