New York, NY – A bill to be introduced in the New York City Council on Thursday would require all bikers, no matter their age, to wear a helmet when cycling in the five boroughs.
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Passing the controversial legislation, sponsored by Council Member David Greenfield of Brooklyn, could be an uphill battle. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has been criticized for imposing laws on the city that some see as nanny-esque, opposes the bill, an aide confirmed.
“The best way to get killed if you’re riding a bicycle is to not wear a helmet,” Mr. Greenfield said. “We want to encourage people to be safe.”
According to the legislation, a first offense would be punishable by a fine of up to $25. A second citation during a one-year period would carry a $50 fine, and a third offense within two years could cost $100.
New York City currently requires all children, ages 13 and under, and anyone who is a commercial cyclist, such as messenger, to wear a helmet. Under Mr. Greenfield’s bill, if a person, age 13 or under, is biking without a helmet in the presence of a parent or guardian, ages 18 or older, the parent or guardian could get the ticket.
Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for the mayor, said the mayor encourages every biker to wear a helmet but believes a legal mandate would “discourage biking.”
I suggest something else. Suppose that a biker without a helmet can never be considered a victim if involved in an accident. That removes a driver from liability, and same goes for accidents that occur on another’s property. If not wearing a helmet, the biker has his own liability and cannot collect damages or sue anyone else. I bet there would be resistance to this, but I am curious about the legality of this idea. Any lawyers to weigh in on this?
Anyone who bikes or lets their kids bike without wearing a helmet is an idiot. Even Lance Armstrong wears a helmet when he bikes. If he can do it so can you. Besides the high risk of death if you hit your head when falling from a bike without a helmet, there is also the high risk of permanent brain injury. The same goes with a scooter or inline skates. It is just plain stupid to not protect your brain. You can get a cheap helmet for under 30 bucks. Ask yourself, Is your brain worth 30 bucks?
I have a feeling this is more about revenge on cyclists, which many in Mr Greenfield’s district (and associated district, i.e. Willi) find annoying, than about safety. Additionally, when it comes time for Mr. Greenfield to vote on Bloomberg’s soda bans, which is also about safety, I’d like to see how Geenfield votes.
(Full Disclosure: I am an avid cyclist and do wear a helmet at all times while riding, but dont think it should be made into a law)
This makes eminently perfect sense to me – but then I am merely an anesthesiologist who has to participate frequently in surgical operations to repair the broken and maimed bodies of cyclists who thought they knew better.
So he wants to ban soda dut he wont enforce helmets, hmmmm??
how about having the ticket givers be as vigilant about helmets as they are about seatbelts and cell phones in a car.
The nanny government of the Soviet Socialist City of New York is just watching out for you. Mazal tov! and be happy they do.
For a change the mayor has some sound to his position. I think requiring helmets for bikers’ safety is anther step limiting freedom.
Agreed….
I wish the government would just leave our personal safety up to our own discretion. We don’t need a Big Daddy to tell us what to do all the time. I still use drop side cribs (the old STURDY kind which never had a problem in the first place), I don’t always wear a seat belt and I eat and drink what I want even if it isn’t always so healthful. The government should concentrate on better things up their alley, like public safety, less tolls and taxes etc.
I would like to know who is going to enforce this Bill!! The cops do not catch the speeders now, so are they going to sit with their coffee and wait for the bicycles to go by?? It would have been good during the school year when we were getting run over by the kids, but now when most of them go to camp, we will not have them around for a month or two!!
Excellent way to generate $$$ for the City budget so we can cover vouchers (sic)
Time to stop figuring out how to nickle and dime NYC residents.
Just wondering what will be the next idea on how to police us.
from ABC News
The law we have now in Florida requires unhelmeted motorcyclists to have a $10,000 personal injury protection insurance policy,” says Dr. Lawrence Lottenberg, director of trauma and critical care at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. “We’ll use $10,000 in the [trauma] room in 20 minutes.”
A recent study in the Journal Trauma found that two-thirds of all bikers had no insurance, leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill. And for those riding without helmets, the average medical cost rises to $55,000.
What’s going on here? First they want to enforce the rule prohibiting bikers from endangering pedestrians on the sidewalk, then they want to prevent them from getting severe head injuries which racks up everyone else’s insurance bill…what’s going on here? Don’t we want bikers to be able to cause as much difficulty for everyone else as possible?
Several years ago, as I was strolling along Sixth Ave. in Manhattan, an adult biker got clipped by a truck that turned onto the avenue from a side street. The scene will forever haunt me – the helmetless rider lying in the middle of the street with his head cracked open and an endless stream of his blood flowing in the gutter.
He wasn’t hurting anymore, because he was dead. And in my mind I kept picturing the reaction of his loved ones when they’d be told of the tragic news. Ever since, every time I see a biker riding w/o a helmet I feel like stopping him and giving him a piece of my mind (in order for him to maintain his own). I’m not a biker but this legislation makes a lot of sense. No different really than the logic behind buckling up.