Vancouver Sun, Page B05, 25-August-2006
Police are calling on the provincial government to change the motorcycle helmet law to prevent the use of flimsy "beanie" helmets.
The small, skull-cap helmets, which do not provide full-face protection, are illegal across Canada except in B.C.
"They don't provide any protection at all," said Surrey RCMP Cpl. Roger Morrow. "Our helmet laws are in need of attention."
Morrow said of the three motorcycle accidents that took place in the Lower Mainland in the past week, two were fatalities. At least two of the riders were wearing beanie helmets. In the latest accidents, a man died Monday on the Pattullo Bridge when he crashed his Harley-Davidson motorcycle after weaving in and out of traffic. The next day, another man was riding his motorcycle on Highway 10 when he crashed into the rear of a tractor cutting grass at the side of the highway. He is in critical condition in hospital.
On August 18, a 60-year-old man driving a Harley-Davidson motorcycle was struck by a car on Highway 15 and 96th. He died later in hospital.
Beanie helmets are not illegal in B.C. because of the province's outdated helmet law, which came into effect in 1987. RCMP and municipal police forces, concerned about the safety of these helmets, have asked the government to update the helmet legislation, Morrow said. The B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police also has asked the government to change the law with the aim of providing a new restriction requiring bikers to wear helmets that meet safety standards.
"What we're looking for is enforceable helmet legislation," RCMP Staff-Sgt. Ted Emanuel, traffic services program coordinator, said Thursday.
He said beanie helmets are "toys that have little, if any ability to reduce injuries. It gives them an appearance of wearing a helmet."
"That's our dilemma," Emanuel said, adding that B.C.'s current helmet law cannot be enforced because it's out of date. Until the law is changed, police cannot issue beanie wearers a ticket for not wearing a helmet.
"The issue is not to issue tickets but to reduce the number of fatalities we're having," he said.
Many motorcycle accident fatalities aren't the biker's fault but are caused by driver error of vehicles that hit motorcyclists, he added.
Police strongly recommend that motorcyclists buy helmets approved by two U.S. testing agencies—Snell and American National Standards Institute (ANSI)—which provide lists of safety-approved helmets on their websites, Emanuel pointed out. He said there is no Canadian agency that does safety testing of motorcycle helmets.
"Those that are using approved helmets should be replaced every five years," he said, adding that old helmets become brittle and deteriorate with exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays.
Adele Tompkins, executive director of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists, said the issue is one of freedom of choice—people should be free to choose a full-face helmet or a beanie helmet.
"For a lot of people, it's about not wanting to wear a helmet, period," she said, pointing out that some U.S. states do not require motorcyclists to wear helmets.
Some bikers believe the weight of a full-face helmet can cause neck injuries in a crash, Tompkins added.
But Doug McClelland of the Insurance Corp. of B.C. dismissed that reasoning.
"There are some people out there who believe wearing a seat belt is unsafe, but it's just an excuse," he said. "Study after study shows approved helmets are safer than non-approved helmets."
For some bikers, a beanie helmet makes a statement about being rebellious, McClelland said.
"I firmly believe motorcyclists who choose these helmets know they are choosing an unsafe piece of equipment and do so to make a statement," he added.
He said ICBC doesn't keep statistics on how many injuries or fatalities involve motorcyclists wearing beanie helmets. "It's not something we track."
