Making cycle helmets compulsory for children

Peter Bone, MP for Wellingborough and Secretary of the All-Party Road Traffic Group, used a 10 minute rule bill to call for cyclists under the age of 14 to be required by law to wear a helmet.

"From reading The Highway Code, one would think that it is already compulsory to wear a safety helmet when cycling. It states that:

      “you should wear a cycling helmet which conforms to current regulations”.

Yet, that is not the law. It is, however, mandatory for children to wear safety helmets when playing cricket or riding a horse. Why should they not do so when riding a bike, the dangers of which are far greater?

My proposed Bill has received support from both sides of the House, and I thank my fellow sponsors. When it was originally drafted, I proposed that the upper age limit for the mandatory wearing of a cycle helmet should be 17 years. However, having listened to representations from the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust, the CTC—the cyclists’ touring club—and other interested groups, I shall propose an amendment in Committee to reduce the maximum age for the compulsory wearing of a cycle helmet to 14."

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