In the past four years 13,154 helmet violation tickets have been given out, and only 1,711 paid for reports The Province Newspaper. You may be wondering why?
It seems like if you’re infuriated by this stat you may need to be thrown in a mental asylum or running ICBC. Most of the rest of the world, including most of Canada, do not have this law in place. At a fine of $29 the non-confrontational bicyclists of Vancouver are pointing to the non-sense of it all. There is no need for a helmet law anywhere, at all anymore. This law is now functioning as a money collector for the Canadian government, and not serving a purpose anymore. With a staggering 84% of tickets unpaid since 2008 this law most definitely won’t be around for much longer.
The only thing is that a ticket unpaid means the cyclists cant renew their driver’s license or get new insurance under ICBC. Although this may not deter people whose only form of travel is by bicycle in the city.
As a cyclist myself, I feel that it should be an adult’s choice to choose wear a helmet or not. Although this is debate in which each side is equally right in their own opinions.
I’ll leave you with
this debate point for getting rid of the law:
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“Being aware of what is around you at all times and
staying out of the swerve-zone of texting and distracted motorists is far more
important than a styrofoam hat. Wear one if you like, but safety doesn't stop
with strapping on a helmet.
Having said that, riding in a car is more dangerous than cycling per hour so why no motoring helmet debate?” –From Jian Ghomeshi CBC http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2012/10/04/do-bike-helmet-laws-discourage-cycling-a-q-debate/
Having said that, riding in a car is more dangerous than cycling per hour so why no motoring helmet debate?” –From Jian Ghomeshi CBC http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2012/10/04/do-bike-helmet-laws-discourage-cycling-a-q-debate/
Cyclists who don’t wear helmets also don’t pay fines
By Dan Fumano, The Province
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/Cyclists+wear+helmets+also+fines/8515699/story.html#ixzz2W3QxZwk8
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