Wearing a Safety Helmet

Some states require children to wear helmets; some states do not. In California, children are required to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle or while riding as a passenger on the back of a bicycle. In fact, California Motor Vehicle Code § 21212 (a) states:

A person under 18 years of age shall not operate a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, or a skateboard, nor shall they wear in-line or roller skates, nor ride upon a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, or a skateboard as a passenger, upon a street, bikeway, as defined in Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code, or any other public bicycle path or trail unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet that meets the standards of either the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), or standards subsequently established by those entities. This requirement also applies to a person who rides upon a bicycle while in a restraining seat that is attached to the bicycle or in a trailer towed by the bicycle.

Our duty as parents, caregivers, attorneys, doctors, and others entrusted with the care of children is to keep them as safe as possible and in preventing bike injuries to children. Following the law regarding helmet usage while cycling, skating, skateboarding, or rollerblading will go far in protecting our children. As the law states, the helmet your child wears should conform to the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials or the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Be sure the helmet is up to current standards and has the seal from the testing agency. The helmet should snugly fit on your child’s head. There should be no “wiggle room” and the helmet should sit on the forehead, above the eyes by about one inch.

The shape of the helmet should be rounded and not look like adult helmets, allowing children to rest his or her head on the back of a bike seat. Make sure the chin strap is properly fastened and snug to the chin, but comfortable. The child should not wear a hat under the helmet as it may interfere with the ventilation and comfort. If you’ve been in a collision, or if your child has fallen off the bike and the helmet has been impacted, you should replace the helmet right away. Once your child gets off the bike or is out of the seat, take the helmet off of them to prevent strangulation injuries from the chin strap getting caught on play equipment.

The Orange County Accident Attorneys are here to help if your child has been injured while riding in a rear-mounted bike seat. We are parents and avid cyclists using the trails along the Santa Ana River, trails in Irvine, Costa Mesa, and Huntington Beach. We also represent clients who’ve been hurt in accidents in Long Beach, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, and Rossmoor. Contact Los Angeles and Orange County bicycle accident lawyers now at 1-888-400-9721.