P.E.I. applying carrot and stick for bike helmet laws
CBC News
People caught cycling without a helmet this summer in Charlottetown and Summerside will have a greater chance of getting a ticket, but wearing a helmet could earn a reward.
The police are working with the Atlantic Network for Injury Prevention to try to increase the use of bike helmets. Network spokeswoman Sally Lockhart told CBC News Wednesday getting a ticket will not necessarily mean paying a fine.
“Cyclists who get the ticket are given the option instead of paying the fine and going to court to come to an education session that really details the risk of not wearing their helmet,” said Lockhart.
Members of Lockhart’s group will also be patrolling the two cities, and will reward people wearing a helmets with incentives such as gift certificates.
Bike helmets have been mandatory on P.E.I. since 2003, but in all that time only three cyclists have ever received a ticket.
Bike helmet law needs better enforcement, says MLA
CBC News
Only three tickets have been issued since P.E.I.’s bicycle helmet law was passed six years ago, and Stratford-Kinlock MLA Cynthia Dunsford says that’s because of lax enforcement.
MLA Cynthia Dunsford hopes more police attention to the bike helmet law this summer will lead to more cyclists wearing them. (CBC)Dunsford is an avid bike rider, with several helmets, and she says it seems most people aren’t even aware there is a mandatory bike helmet law.
“My biggest concern is seeing a lot of children without their helmets on,” Dunsford told CBC News Monday.
She believes that’s because so few Islanders get ticketed — just three since the law was passed in 2003. Dunsford wants to see more enforcement of the law.
Charlottetown police Chief Paul Smith said the lack of tickets does not necessarily reflect officers ignoring the law. He said officers often give a warning rather than issue a ticket, but admitted they don’t usually go out looking specifically for cyclists without helmets.
Transportation Minister Ron Mackinley said it’s a difficult law for police to enforce. “If somebody’s driving a bicycle down the sidewalks of Charlottetown and you’re in a police car and you want to stop them, you’re going to have a hard time catching them,” he said.
Mackinley said the province is planning an ad campaign this summer that will include warnings about the dangers of not wearing a helmet.
Attorney General Gerard Greenan has put that issue on the agenda of the next meeting of the P.E.I. chiefs of police committee.
Dunsford hopes all the attention will lead to more cyclists strapping on a helmet.
