Local All-Age Bicycle Helmet Ordinances in the United States: A Review and Analysis

Molly Merrill-Francis; Jon S Vernick; Keshia M Pollack Porter

doi:10.1177/1073110519857283

Local All-Age Bicycle Helmet Ordinances in the United States: A Review and Analysis

J Law Med Ethics. 2019 Jun;47(2):283-291. doi: 10.1177/1073110519857283.

Authors

Molly Merrill-Francis¹, Jon S Vernick¹, Keshia M Pollack Porter¹

Affiliation

¹ Molly Merrill-Francis, M.P.H., is a current Health Policy and Management Ph.D. candidate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. She received an M.P.H. in Health Behavior from University of North Carolina Gilling's School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill, NC. Jon S. Vernick, J.D., M.P.H., is a Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prof. Vernick is the Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Law and the Public's Health and Director of Training and Education for the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. He is also affiliated with the Eastern Region of the Network for Public Health Law. Keshia M. Pollack Porter, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Pollack Porter is Director of the School's Institute for Health and Social Policy and Director of the Research Core for the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy.

PMID: 31298090
DOI: 10.1177/1073110519857283

Abstract

Bicycle helmets protect against head injury. Mandatory helmet laws likely increase their use. Although 21 states and Washington, DC have mandatory helmet laws for youth (variously defined) bicyclists, no U.S. state has a mandatory helmet law that applies to all ages; however, some localities have all-age helmet laws for bicyclists. This study abstracted local helmet laws applicable to all-ages to examine their elements.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Age Distribution
Age Factors
Bicycling / legislation & jurisprudence*
Craniocerebral Trauma / prevention & control*
Head Protective Devices*
Humans
United States / epidemiology

Grants and funding

R49 CE002466/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States