WeTommyD

My summer tour I plan on bicycling a bit into BC from Jasper. Noticed on the Mount Robson Provincial Park website that bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia. How well is this enforced in this section of BC?

Not looking to get in a helmet safety debate.

overthehillmedi

I see a lot of riders without helmets and the police just look at them, that being said why take a chance and give them a reason to stop you.

closetbiker

I believe the fine is only $29 if a cop wants to write you a ticket

Newspaperguy

I see some bare-headed riders out here, but they're definitely the minority.

Whatever you think of wearing a helmet, remember the helmet legislation is in place in British Columbia and has been in place for many years. Please respect our law.

closetbiker

...but a significant minority. I believe ICBC pegs the usage rate at about 55%, while Stats Can recently ran a report placing it at 60% - the highest in the country.

A sizable portion of the cycling community doesn't buy into the law. That's a reality.

wunderkind

It's only illegal if you get caught. Kinda like growing marijuana.

I've never seen cops ticketing a bicyclist without helmet before. I know there are some raids that they perform once a while. But that's almost always in D/T Vancouver.

closetbiker

it's as illegal as driving 60 - 65 in a maximum 50 zone.

Cops rarely ticket drivers for doing that, so why should they ticket cyclists for no lids?

wunderkind

The same with riding on sidewalks. Sure it's illegal in some jurisdiction, but I've yet to see a cop ticketing anybody for it.

Newspaperguy

Illegal behaviour is illegal. Getting caught does not change that.

The police might not put a lot of effort into enforcing helmet laws, but the laws are still on our books. Please respect our laws — including our helmet laws — if you plan to cycle in British Columbia.

Sheik_Yerbouti

I own property in BC, and I get the OP full permission to ride without a helmet, smoke as much weed as he wants, and do whatever he wants just as long as he doesn't hurt anyone else. I'm not an uptight snitch who feels it's his job to tell people what to do.

Remember, snitches get stitches.

Trikin'

Sure there's a law, but those who ride without a helmet just don't care about anything but themselves, these are the ones who breeze through stop signs and run red lights. Personally I always wear my helmet and I'm now ignoring those riders who won't wear theirs and then there's those who have their helmet attached to their handle bars that really gets me. But aside personal choice, how about the kids out there seeing an adult riding without a helmet, what message are you sending to them.

GamblerGORD53

Oh what Crap. Who is the Bozo who wrote that law anyway ? I was last there during the Canadian Open week , 2005.
I never have or will wear any useless pillow on my head. I ignore you guys also. (CFers are snobs anyway) Why don't you wear your helmet when it is actually needed ? Like, walking on ice. I've seen more of those calamities. I've ridden a 1 speed bike in Vietnam (and China) with streets full of Honda125s, as thick as sardines. They say wearing a helmet anywhere in Holland or China is LAUGHABLE. Keep your stupid laws of my body.

PS I ride on off on off the sidewalks all the time, unless they are crowded. I always look the other guy in the eye before i turn/ go straight thru or do anything. Works better than a hand signal. I "complete" stop for a reason, signs are Not one of them. (car OR bike) Teach the kids bike skills and accident prevention.

badrad

to just enjoy riding and stop worrying about everyone's business and stop turning into an uptight a$$.

Sheik_Yerbouti

Hear, hear!

closetbiker

Yes, well the fact is, people will behave they way they wish unless someone stops them. The police do not consider it a priority to enforce this law so people will do as they wish.

Some people (like myself) do not observe the law because they do not agree with it. Others have no problem risking a fine (very low) on the off chance they do receive one. As long as someone does not harm another, many people feel it should be an individual choice.

closetbiker

Not true, some people feel they law is harmful and unjust. Riders ride as they normally would, helmet or not. It's not like they remove a helmet and ride poorly or put a helmet on and ride responsibly.

As for the example argument, would it be reasonable to suggest all those who can swim well, should wear life jackets while swimming to set a "good example" for all those who cannot swim? Is that not a similar (and equally ridiculous) argument?

closetbiker

It was a worried suburban mother who was afraid for her 9 year old riding his bike to school.

She wanted him to wear a helmet, he didn't, so she organized a political organization to get a province wide all ages law so everybody in the province had to wear a helmet.

She used helmet industry funded research to justify the law in the legislature and no MLA question the research in any way.

Beerslinger

It's my understanding that the helmet law in B.C. is mandatory for all ages 16 + under. After that it's personal choice. I personally wear one because people in this town are stupid and don't know how to drive in the first place, so chances of me getting nailed are pretty high.

closetbiker

It's been mandatory that helmets be worn by anyone riding a bicycle regardless of age since 1996.

Many still do not wear them however, much like there are motorists who drive over the maximum speed limits.

badrad

yeh, and those stupid *uckers that are still jawing away on their phone and hammering at their crackberries as they pay little regards to pedestrians and others on the road - and this is long after the law against was passed.

on second thought, yeh, the helmet is a safer bet with all these *******s at the steering wheels.

lhbernhardt

Wearing a helmet is one of those laws that is not always enforced, but could be invoked against you should the conditions arise. For example, you could be on your bike, and have some cager run over you. You were likely in the right, but because you were not wearing a helmet , the lawyer for the driver could assert that you were partially at fault because you were in violation of the helmet law, and that your not wearing a helmet showed a blatant disregard for the law that could support his argument that you were riding recklessly. On the other hand, had you been hit by a car, but you were wearing a helmet, and your bike was equipped with a bell and with lights, the rear one of which was flashing prior to impact, what can they pin on you?
L.

closetbiker

One of the problems with the helmet law is that it's accompanied by a reduction of award scheme for the portion of the award meant to provide compensation for a head injury.

For example, if the portion of award for a head injury was $1000, and the cyclist wasn't wearing a helmet, the cyclists award would be reduced by an arbitrary amount (usually in the neighbourhood of 10-15%)

The cyclists would still be fully compensated for the rest of the injuries.

This is a controversial proviso as a helmet manufacturer is not legally liable for injuries to the head if the wearer was wearing their product. So basically, the cyclist is at fault for not using a product for protection that it's manufacturers says cannot be relied upon to provide protection.

My understanding is ICBCs obligation would be to prove to the court that a helmet "would have" provided protection in the collision in order for the reduction to be applied and that the cyclists action of not wearing a helmet was negligent. To my knowledge, this has never proven in any court.


Of course this all costs time and money and wouldn't be worth doing unless the damage and award were significant. This means that a cyclist would have to have a significant brain injury and still be living for a lawyer to take the case.

dorse

Why no one else in this Country does, everyone speeds. All stop signs are rolled through. Hell Canada is the land of the unenforced law.

And if you ride on the side of the road (the gutter) you will be ignored and passed at high speed by vehicles ignoring the speed limit..

Heatherbikes

Wearing a bike helmet is the law period. However, riding in a rural area, you are not likely to get bothered. Being a provincial law, I am not sure if the RCMP have any jurisdiction over bike helmets. Correct me if you know. I certainly never get stopped by the rcmp if I forget my helmet. I would say a large majority of cyclists in Vancouver especially do not wear helmets and it makes me cringe. Mostly young people on fixies without brakes or riding old bikes in heavy traffic looking cool. I certainly didn't wear helmets when I was younger and they kind of suck, but when I moved to BC and found out it was the law, I mostly complied. Whether or not helmets really work is not the issue. This is the most important thing: if you are in an accident with a vehicle and you weren't wearing a bike helmet, you are going to suffer for it. ICBC are ruthless. My husband was hit by a truck while he was biking. He had the right of way, he was sure he had made eye contact with the driver, but ICBC found him half at fault! Why? Because they looked at his bike, the bike pads were a bit worn and they assumed he was biking fast because he was going down a hill. So, they could say the bike was in poor condition and he was reckless. He was very lucky to not break his legs but his knees have never been the same. I was in a motor vehicle accident-a head on collision with a semi and ICBC were terrible to me. I was a passenger, no way at fault and I will never ever trust them to be looking after my best interests.
So, honestly, just look at the helmet as insurance against ICBC-get something cute.

closetbiker

It is the law to wear a bicycle helmet in BC but it's not enforced very well.

I'd say the ability of a bicycle helmet to "work" is very much the issue along with how the law has affected the safety of cyclists in the years it has been in effect.

The Vancouver Sun ran a column on it's front page questioning the laws validity

https://www.vancouversun.com/news/Wea...860/story.html

and I wrote a couple of columns on how it got passed

https://www.richmond-news.com/health/...978/story.html

and what what went on in the legislature when it was

https://www.richmond-news.com/news/yo...146/story.html

Australia's law was an inspiration for BC and recently media there has been covering research that shows the law hasn't been effective

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/nat...-1225906004560

and a woman who challenged Australia's law in court won her case

https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/heady-free...827-13vz2.html

Locally, The Province's VPD columnist explained he's been convinced by the arguments used by people who prefer choice in helmet use and the city itself has put up a web page that asks if the law should be repealed

https://vancouver.uservoice.com/forum...tion?ref=title

So you see, in a democracy it does matter what people think and although it is a law a bicycle helmet must be worn, so many people disagree that following this law is often ignored with little consequence.