Tag: helmet laws

March 6, 2023

King County study finds helmet use unchanged after law repeal

One year ago, the King County Board of Health voted 11–2 to repeal the county’s rare all-ages bicycle helmet law. One of the arguments in favor of repeal was that the law was not a top reason that most people choose to wear a helmet. To test this assertion, Public Health – Seattle & King…
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tagged: bike share, helmet laws, helmets, king county board of health
February 23, 2022

Repeal of helmet law is a sign of change both in bike advocacy and local politics

The two-decade bicycle helmet law experiment is drawing to a close as Seattle, the largest remaining city in the United States with such a law, no longer requires them. The King County Board of Health voted Thursday to repeal its all-ages helmet law after months of debate, a decision that also covers Seattle. The law…
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tagged: girmay zahilay, helmet laws, king county board of health
February 15, 2022

King County Health Board set to vote on repeal of rare all-ages helmet law – UPDATE: Law repealed

UPDATE 2/17: The Board of Health voted 11-2 to repeal the law, citing serious concerns about inequitable police enforcement. The general sentiment of the majority was that they still strongly recommend helmet use, just not the police-enforced strategy for achieving that public health goal. The King County Board of Health should vote on whether or…
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tagged: helmet laws, king county board of health
January 18, 2022

Under new policy, Seattle Police should no longer stop people for biking without a helmet

Seattle Police should no longer pull people over simply for riding a bicycle without wearing a helmet, according to a new department policy. “These violations do not have a direct connection to the safety of other individuals on the roads, paths, or sidewalks,” wrote SPD Chief Adrian Diaz in a letter (PDF) to Seattle Inspector…
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tagged: adrian diaz, helmet laws, king county board of health, publicola, spd
June 16, 2021

Support for repealing all-ages helmet law grows as Health Board begins debate

The list of organizations backing a proposal to repeal King County’s all-ages bicycle helmet law includes many local bicycling and safe streets groups like Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and Cascade Bicycle Club as well as national organizations like People for Bikes and the League of American Bicyclists. This momentum comes as the King County Board of…
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tagged: cascade bicycle club, helmet laws, helmets, real change, seattle neighborhood greenways
February 18, 2021

King County expected to examine helmet law as Cascade Bicycle Club supports repeal UPDATED

Correction: the data compiled by Ethan Campbell of Central Seattle Greenways has been updated after further analysis of the citations issued revealed a number of duplicates. The overall summary of the information has not significantly changed. The King County Board of Health is likely to add a review of the county’s bicycle helmet requirement to…
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tagged: helmet laws, king county board of health