Mandatory bike helmets for young people in Moose Jaw

For those 16 and under, not wearing a helmet while biking in Moose Jaw now carries a $70 fine.

“Prevention is better than a cure,” Mayor Fraser Tolmie said. “I would encourage other communities to look at that.”

The Friendly City joins a small group of other communities that enforce similar laws in the province. Estevan and Yorkton also have laws surrounding helmet use.

Tolmie says rising concerns around concussions were a factor in bringing in the bylaw now, but he also hopes it could cut down on hospital visits for those injured while biking.

The city hasn’t ruled out including adults in the new law down the road- but for now, Moose Jaw police are focusing on encouraging helmet use in young people, rather than catching those who don’t.

“We’ve made some really good strides, but we needed something like this in place to help with some of the more reluctant age groups,” Sgt. Kevin Pilsworth noted.

Police have helped put on bike safety ‘rodeos’ for more than 15 years in hopes of instilling the habit early on.

“The helmet is just a seatbelt for your head,” Pilsworth added. “Decades ago, it wasn’t the law to wear a seatbelt. Now you think ‘how crazy was that’? Now it’s common practice. People don’t think about whether it’s the law, it’s about is it the safe thing to do.”

SGI says helmets can reduce risk of serious head injury by up to 85 per cent when used properly- something Mayor Fraser Tolmie can attest to.

“I had a motorcycle accident, and I was wearing the right gear at the right time,” He said. “I’m able to sit here and talk and say that equipment saved me.”

As it stands, Saskatchewan and Quebec are the only two provinces without legislation requiring minors to wear helmets while riding bikes. While individual communities can put their own laws in place, larger centers like Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert haven’t done so.

“It’s a first step,” Saskatoon-based pediatrician Dr Mahli Brindamour said. “We’re calling on the province to adopt mandatory helmet laws for everyone, not just for children.”

The Saskatchewan Medical Association has been pushing for a provincial law for more than a year, to no avail. While Brindamour believes a helmet law would be easy to implement, she would like to see additional programs come in with it.

“We have to make helmets available. You wouldn’t want people who, say, live in poverty to be targeted by those laws,” Brindamour explained.

SGI says there are currently no plans for province-wide helmet laws, instead of taking an education-based approach.

“Regardless of whether there’s a law or not, we really do encourage people to wear bike helmets,” SGI’s Tyler McMurchy said. ”It really improves your safety when you’re out riding your bicycle.”

The training wheels are still on with Moose Jaw’s helmet law in its infancy, but the city still hopes other communities will set their bikes on the same path.