Last month the Spanish cabinet approved amendments to the existing Law on Traffic, Circulation, Motor Vehicles and Road Safety, and then passed the proposed bill to the Spanish Parliament for approval. Under the heading “Improving Road Safety’ is an amendment that could make bicycle helmets mandatory for all cyclists under the age of 18 on all roads (urban and rural).
This may sound like a good idea, but the European Cyclists’ Federation noted that mandatory helmet laws could actually discourage people from cycling. The above poster – in Spanish – noted “20 children are run over per year. Would you feel safer if your child wore a helmet? The danger for children are cars, not riding bicycles.”
The ECF also added:
“Research in the field of cycling in Australia (a country with a MHL) has led to the conclusion that “the greatest effect of the helmet law was not to encourage cyclists to wear helmets but to discourage cycling” (Robinson 1996). By portraying cycling as a dangerous activity, MHLs dissuade people from cycling.”
This is something to consider. While recommended use of helmets could warn people why a helmet is necessary, making these mandatory could have the effect of keeping people off bikes.
A new disturbing trend is being reported by the European Cyclists’ Federation. According to a recent study the number of kids who walk or ride a bike to school has decreased from 82 percent to 14 percent within the last 30 years. In the United States only 1 percent of children rode a bike to school in 2009, compared to 49 percent of children in the Netherlands. And getting kids back on the bike could help for healthier youth.