The King County Board of Health voted Thursday to repeal a law mandating that bicycle riders wear helmets, citing studies that showed people of color and the homeless were disproportionately targeted.
The board, which governs public health in Seattle and the surrounding areas, said the 1993 law allowing police to fine cyclists riding without helmets has “shown racist and discriminatory enforcement,” according to the press release. Black cyclists were four times more likely than white cyclists to be fined, and in Seattle, nearly half the citations went to homeless people, police data from the last several years show.
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“As a cyclist, I know the many health, social and environmental benefits of biking,” board member Jeff Duchin said in a statement. “As a former ER doctor who has treated people with preventable head injuries, I also know the importance of wearing a bike helmet. And as Health Officer, I appreciate that community partners have highlighted the negative impacts of discriminatory enforcement of the helmet law. The bottom line is that Public Health continues to strongly recommend and encourage helmet use, especially by children.”
The board affirmed the safety benefits of wearing a helmet while cycling and allocated money to programs that provide free helmets. It said it will closely assess the safety ramifications of dropping the helmet law in the coming years. Enforcement of the law has been minimal in recent years, the Seattle Times reported.
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The repeal is in line with the Board of Health’s 2020 “Racism is a Public Health Crisis” resolution pledging to address government resources to rectify the county’s complicity “in maintaining and perpetuating structural racism.”
