Despite severity of head injuries, helmet laws rare
By BRETT ROWLAND
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CRYSTAL LAKE – Helmets aren’t required by law in Illinois, although some municipalities have local ordinances mandating their use.
Bicyclists can cruise McHenry County Conservation District trails with or without a helmet. Twenty-one other states and the District of Columbia have bicycle helmet laws, but none require use by all riders all of the time, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Nearby, in Barrington, bicyclists 16 and younger are required to wear a helmet, Police Chief Jerry Libit said.
“It has been effective,” he said. “Many more kids and adults are using helmets.”
A handful of other Illinois municipalities have some kind of bicycle helmet law, according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute. For example, bicycle messengers of all ages are required to wear helmets in Chicago.
According to the IIHS, 91 percent of bicyclists killed in the United States in 2008 were not wearing helmets. However, many other factors are involved in bicycle fatalities, including the use of alcohol. About 26 percent of bicyclists older than 16 killed in 2008 had a blood-alcohol level at or above 0.08 percent. Population is another factor. Some 68 percent of fatal bicycle accidents occurred in urban areas.
Participants in nearly every competitive bicycle event in any state are required to wear helmets, said Tim Heil, owner of Crystal Lake Ski and Bike.
“Helmets are much more popular now than 10 or 15 years ago,” he said. “Back then, they were ugly. With new technology and design, the construction and fit is much better.”
Heil, an avid cyclist, said he wears a helmet most of the time, especially on longer rides or when mountain biking. Even on shorter rides, he puts one on.
“With all the cars nowadays, it makes more sense,” he said.
Helmets range from about $45 to more than $100.
Recently, there has been more talk about helmet laws, said longtime cyclist Mike Keating, a Chicago-based trial attorney and founder of Keating Law Offices. Keating, who writes on the site www.illinoisbicyclelaw.com, said the legislative push largely was the result of increased ridership and new medical evidence about the effects of concussions.
State Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, introduced a bill last year that would have mandated helmet use for those under 12. The penalty for failing to do so was a warning; there were no fines or citations.
“We buckle up every time we get in the car. Why can’t we put helmets on when we ride?” he said.
The bill drew more resistance than Silverstein expected. It was not signed into law.
“There was a lot of opposition from motorcycle people,” he said.
The American Motorcyclist Association, which has about 250,000 members, encourages riders to wear helmets and other protective equipment, but opposes helmet laws.
“The AMA holds that a common principle should be applied when consideration is given to mandating personal safety, whether it be for motorcycling or some other risk-related activity: Adults are capable of making personal safety decisions for themselves,” a statement on the group’s website notes. “Society’s role is not to mandate personal safety, but rather to provide the education and experience necessary to aid adults in making these decisions for themselves.”
Silverstein’s bill never made it out of committee, but he said he planned to bring it back again.
