A California state senator who wanted to require adults to wear bike helmets has backed down for now. Democrat Carol Liu has amended Senate Bill 192 to require only a comprehensive study of bike helmet use.
Liu's original bill would have made California the only state in the nation to require every person, regardless of age, to wear a helmet while riding a bike. Bicyclists under the age of 18 already are required to wear helmets in California.
Bike advocates in San Diego and elsewhere in the state opposed Liu's bill. They said it would discourage people from biking and send a message that cycling was inherently dangerous.
"Thank you to everyone who wrote to oppose the bill," said Samantha Ollinger, president of BikeSD on her group's blog. "A data driven approach to safety is a much more welcome approach than one based in baseless assertions."
She later added that she opposes helmet use from a "public policy perspective."
Andy Hanshaw, executive director of the San Diego Bicycle Coalition, said his group wasn't arguing that wearing a helmet was a bad idea. But he said there's no proof that mandatory helmet use causes a reduction in trauma and injury.
"We do know that implementing mandatory helmet laws in other countries has reduced ridership," Hanshaw said.
Liu, who represents La Cañada Flintridge in Los Angeles County, continues to argue in the bill's summary that bicyclists who don't wear helmets are far more likely to be hurt or killed in collisions and falls.
