Bill Z. wrote:

Peter writes:


Bill Z. wrote:


Erik Freitag writes:


On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 00:21:50 +0000, Bill Z. wrote:


There are other ways in which laws can be enforced and have effects.

My bike commute in the SF East Bay area took me past an elementary
school, a middle school, and a high school. Although there are far
fewer kids cycling to school now than before the helmet law, I still
see a reasonable number. ...


The reduction is due to traffic conditions, which have gotten worse.

The traffic conditions didn't change appreciably between the year before
the helmet law was enacted and the year after. Yet there was a very
obvious effect on the number of bicycles in the school racks.

I'm nervous about riding a bike past a school when kids are being
dropped off due to the parents' erratic driving. I just don't feel
comfortable when cars park facing the wrong way and drive down a bike
lane, on the wrong side of the street along a collision course with me,
as they wait for an opportunity to cross over to the other side.

The things you describe don't happen at any of the three schools that I
pass.


.... Almost all of them have a helmet, but about
80% of those helmets are hanging from their handlebars. Maybe this is
just a new fashion statement, but I think there's another reason - the
kids really don't want to wear the helmets but the law is enforced at
the schoolyard (and possibly at home). As soon as they are off the
school property the helmets come off their heads and get tied to the
bars.


One relative told me that, as a child, she would ride a bike without
holding onto the handlebars but only when a block or more from home so
her parents wouldn't know.

Wearing one in sight of the school and putting them on then handlebars
elsewhere will simply show that the kid isn't overly respectful of
authority, and probably generate some kudos from his peers. I'd hardly
see how this would effect riding.

Your claim was that the helmet law can't affect ridership since it's not
enforced by the police. But at least in my neighborhood it is enforced
by the schools and anyone who wants to ride to school must at least wear
a helmet when on the school grounds. This requirement was made clear
both to the children and to parents during back-to-school activities.


When my daughter was starting high school I asked her why none of her
friends rode their bikes anymore. She asked them and the main reason
given was the 'helmet hair' issue. Now we may not think that's a very
good reason, but it really doesn't matter if it keeps kids from
riding. Fewer kids riding is likely to mean fewer adults riding later.


When I started high school, kids mostly stopped riding bikes too, and
helmets weren't even available.

I had one in the '50s - when were they "not available?"
Anyway, the comparison was between the number of riders seen at a school
before the helmet law and the significantly smaller number at the same
school after the law became effective. The age-range of the kids
remained the same.

It was mostly a "little kids ride
bikes" thing. If it isn't one excuse, it's another, but I see no
reason to blame helmets.

The 30% or so drop in ridership when surveys were done in NZ and
Australia just before and after helmet laws went into effect would seem
to be one good reason. I didn't keep any statistics at the schools I
observed, but there was a similar drop.