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Introduction and scope
The British Columbia helmet law came into
effect from September 1996. It applies to all ages.
Exemptions apply to children under 12 years riding non-chain driven 3 or 4-wheeled
cycles; users of pedicabs and quadricycles; and people exempt on religious or
medical grounds [5]. Exemption certificates have not always
been forthcoming for qualifying applicants, but the court declined to impose
a fine in one such case when a charge was brought.
The penalty for not
wearing a helmet is CAD 25 plus CAD 4 victim of injury surcharge. For children
under 16, the penalty acrues to the parents if aware of the offence.
Compliance and enforcement
There was an increase in the
proportion of cyclists wearing a helmet between 1995 and 1999 as shown below
[1]. British Columbia already had relatively high helmet
wearing rates pre-law, so some of the increase to 1999 may have taken place
without a law.
| Proportion of cyclists wearing helmets | 1995 pre-law | 1999, 3 years after law |
| Commuter cyclists | 60% | 75% |
| Recreational cyclists | 48% | 74% |
| Neighborhood cyclists | 39% | 72% |
| Community survey | 39% | 60% |
| Male | 44% | 68% |
| Female | 50% | 76% |
Anecdotal reports suggest that the law has been vigorously enforced in the City of Victoria and partially enforced in the City of Vancouver.
Effect on casualties
The percentage of child cyclists admitted
to hospital with head injury pre and post law was as follows [2]:
| 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 |
| 39.8% | 32.4% | 35.1% | 30.0% |
The largest improvement in head injury rates was pre-law. The law resulted
in no improvement in % head injuries from a year before legislation (95/96) to a
year after (97/98) compared with Canadian provinces that did not introduce a
helmet law. It seems likely, therefore, that on-going trends rather than the
helmet law was responsible for the changes over time. [3]
For
cyclists of all ages, total cyclist injuries from police attended collisions (
i.e. involving a motor vehicle) declined by 35% from 1995 to 1997 (31% by 1999).
[4] Head injuries in these collisions as a percentage of total
injuries varied thus:
| 1995 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| 12.8% | 13.9% | 12.4% | 14.0% |
The proportion of head injuries did not change with the helmet law.
Effect on cycle use
Controlled surveys of cycle use before and
after the law were not carried out. However a survey to measure helmet use in
1999 suggested that the cyclist profile had changed, with around 30% fewer
cyclists aged 16 to 30 years, a similar reduction in road cycles and a smaller
reduction in the proportion of females cycling. [1]
The
fall of 35% in all cyclist injuries from 1995 to 1997 (see above) was most
likely a combination of general road safety benefits and falling cycle use.
Pedestrian injuries fell by 7% over the same period. [4] It is
therefore possible that cycle use fell by around 28% due to the helmet law.
Cost benefit
No data available.
References and related studies
[1]
Foss RD, Beirness DJ. Bicycle
helmet use in British Columbia. UNC Highway Safety Research Center; Traffic Injury Research Foundation,
2000. 
[2] Macpherson AK, To TM, Macarthur C, Chipman ML, Wright JG, Parkin PC. Impact of Mandatory Helmet Legislation on Bicycle-Related Head Injuries in Children: A Population-Based Study. Pediatrics, 2002; 110(5):e60. 
[3]
Robinson DL. Confusing
trends with the effect of helmet laws. Pediatrics,
post-publication peer review, July 2003.
[4] Data from
Traffic Collision Statistics British Columbia, published by the Insurance
Corporation of British Columbia.
[5] Bicycle
Safety Helmet Exemption Regulation, Motor Vehicle Act, 261/96, 1996.
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