The wheels are spinning in a bid to change B.C.’s controversial mandatory bicycle-helmet law.
The law, which falls under the Motor Vehicle Act, was implemented by the province’s NDP government in 1996.
And with Vancouver planning by next spring a big-budget bicycle-share program, critics of the law say mandatory helmet use will only hurt the move by city hall to get people out of their cars and on bikes.
Chris Bruntlett is among those lobbying the provincial government to change the mandatory bike helmet law.
He feels for slow, short bike trips, helmet use should be the choice of the rider.
“We have seen the impact of the mandatory helmet law and it has killed off the idea of a short, spontaneous and slow bicycle trip,” said Bruntlett, whose two-wheeler advocacy group is called the Church of Situp Cycling.
“For citizen cycling, where you go out for a coffee or groceries, the idea you need (head) protection discourages people from riding and they will take the car or bus instead,” he said.
Under the Motor Vehicle Act, all children and adults are required to wear bicycle helmets on public roadways.
At the time the law was brought in, government officials cited U.S. studies that concluded bike helmets reduce the rate of head injuries by 85 per cent and of brain injuries by 88 per cent.
The mandatory helmet law is even being questioned by those close to the premier.
Ted Dixon, the BC Liberal Party Policy Chair, told The Province Monday he is speaking out personally about the mandatory helmet law, adding he thinks it could be a topic of debate for the next election.
“We need to bring the responsibility back to the individual who is riding the bike,” he said. “My personal view is the individual is best able to assess the risk.”
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Dixon said he hopes the law is reviewed and ultimately changed, noting that in Australia a mandatory bike-helmet law resulted in people shying away from bikes.
“In Australia what the helmet laws did was kill off utility cycling – things like going to the corner store on a bike,” he said. “I am not against helmets, I am against the provincewide ban. All we can do at the provincial level is get rid of the provincewide ban.”
Dixon admits he has met a lot of opposition to his view. “Let’s have the discussion and decide whether this law is doing more harm than good.”
Lions Gate Hospital emergency room physician Dr. Sam Gutman argued the helmet law should stay. “I think the evidence is very clear – bike helmets reduce injury and save lives,” he said. “I don’t understand why people would not put a helmet on. Revisiting the law is misplaced.”
Even at a slow speed Gutman points out the head injuries can be devastating. “The cost of a head injury to the general public is substantial,” he said of the medical bills.
Dan McCash echoed Gutman’s comments. In 2008, McCash slammed into a curb while riding his bike and sailed into a lamp post. He suffered a broken jaw, a broken shoulder, lasting brain injury and was in a coma for several weeks before entering rehab – all because he chose not to wear a helmet while cycling to the pub one night.
The 28-year-old, who once hoped to be a bike courier, hasn’t been on a bicycle since.
“When you get into a car to go to the store … what do you do when you get in the passenger seat? You get your seatbelt on,” McCash said. “That’s what the helmet is. It’s your seatbelt.”
McCash is disappointed by those pushing to repeal the law, noting too many cyclists already treat the helmet as an optional accessory.
“It could destroy their lives, it could destroy their family’s lives,” McCash said of the risks. Even four years after his accident, McCash still has some trouble with his memory. “The people that know me, know how much it’s affected my life over the years and now they never leave the house without a helmet.”
Former Vancouver councillor Peter Ladner is an avid cyclist and believes the bike share program will sink if helmet use is mandatory.
“I think people should wear helmets, I always do,” he said. “But for short rides it is not necessary.”
As for the bike share program in places like downtown Vancouver, Ladner said many will be discouraged if they have to put on a rental helmet when they take out the bike. “I think there should be an exemption for the public bike share,” Ladner said of the present helmet legislation.
Among those riding the downtown Vancouver Hornby bike lanes, there was mixed reaction to the call for changes to the helmet legislation. “It should be a person’s choice,” said bike courier Phil Lambrette, 41. He said he wears a helmet to avoid the $29 fine police issue to people who don’t have a helmet on.
Jeff West, 41, of Vancouver said while he tends to be a civil libertarian on many issues, helmet use just makes sense. “I don’t see the big deal about putting a few ounces of Styrofoam on my head,” he said. “Putting a helmet on is not that big a deal.”
He said he has had a personal glimpse of what can happen to someone who has a cycling injury and does not have a helmet on. “I’ve got an uncle in long-term care because of a bicycle accident,” he said. “A helmet can be sweaty and hot but it is worth it in the end.”
Dan Drost, 46, says he rides his bicycle 365 days a year. He thinks wearing a helmet should be up to the individual. “I’ve been riding a bike for 36 years and never been in an accident where I needed a helmet,” he said. “I’m a safe biker and wearing a helmet should be my choice.”
According to the BC Coroners Service, there were 20 cycling deaths in the past two years. Of those, 19 were male and one female. Fifteen of those cases involved a motor vehicle and five did not. ICBC data also showed just over 9,200 tickets were issued in the same period to cyclists for failure to wear a helmet.
The issue of helmet use has drawn much attention in Ontario recently after the chief coroner’s office on Monday urged that province to make bike helmets mandatory. The coroner in Ontario examined 129 cycling fatalities between 2006 and 2010 and only 27 per cent of those killed were wearing a helmet. In Ontario only those under the age of 18 are required to wear a helmet.
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