Getting Ahead of Cyclist Injuries With Helmet Laws.

AuthorLays, Julie

Prompted by the growing number of bicycle riders and the resulting increase in crashes and injuries, the National Transportation Safety Board recently conducted its first analysis of bicycle safety in 47 years. As a result of the study, the board called for making cyclists more visible to motorists, developing crash avoidance systems for cars capable of detecting bicyclists and building separated bike lanes and other infrastructure improvements to make roads safer. It also recommended that state legislatures pass mandatory helmet laws.

Only Puerto Rico requires all bicyclists to wear helmets. Twenty-nine states have no helmet law for cyclists of any age, while the other 21 states and the District of Columbia have laws that apply only to cyclists of a certain age, which varies from 17 years and younger in California, Delaware and New Mexico to 11 years and younger in Louisiana and Pennsylvania, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. But that might be changing.

Supporters of helmet laws cite statistics. Crashes with cars killed 854 cyclists in 2018. That's the highest number in 30 years and a 6.3% increase over 2017. And, of those who died, only about 17% were wearing helmets. Studies show that wearing...

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