Doctors call on cops to enforce Seattle’s bike helmet law
Oct 31, 2012, 6:54 AM | Updated: 7:51 am
Some medical experts are calling on police to more strongly enforce local bike helmet laws. (AP Photo/file)
(AP Photo/file)
It’s all too common to see people around the Seattle area riding bikes without helmets. It’s against the law in Seattle and King County, but about a third of cyclists don’t know or don’t care. Some medical experts argue it’s time to crackdown.
“They enforce the laws against not using your seat belt. They enforce the laws against not using a motorcycle helmet, and therefore, I think they should enforce the laws against not using your bicycle helmet,” Dr. Fred Rivara of UW Medicine tells KING 5.
Seattle Police wrote 447 tickets for failing to wear a helmet last year, but admit enforcement isn’t a priority. Police tell KING 5 they’d rather educate cyclists to go buy a helmet rather than slap them with a $103 fine.
The Traffic Safety Commission says 30 percent of cyclists in Seattle and King County don’t wear a helmet and most are young adults.
Dr. Rivara argues while helmets commonly protect against serious brain injury or even death, too many cyclists take their safety for granted and know they’ll get off easy if caught without a helmet.
“Most of the time they say, ‘Don’t you know you’re supposed to have a helmet? Oh yeah, I don’t have one right now.'”
KIRO Editor Karen Taylor contributed to this report
