S.1117 – An Act relative to bicycle safety (helmets, reflective clothing)

Senator Brownsberger submitted the following testimony on S.1117, An Act relative to bicycle safety:

TO:                  Joint Committee on Public Health

FROM:            Senator William N. Brownsberger

RE:                  S1117, An Act relative to bicycle safety

DATE:             September 22^nd, 2015

I am writing to explain my present position on S1117, An Act relative to bicycle safety.

This bill would require helmet use for all cyclists and encourage use of high visibility clothing. I believe bicycle helmets and reflective clothing are indispensable safety accessories for cyclists. However, it dawned on me after filing the legislation, that by making helmet use mandatory, this bill would have the unintended consequence of creating more police stops.

I believe that increased use of bicycle helmets and reflective clothing would benefit public health and safety, but I do not feel we should mandate their use by law for adults. I am happy to work with your committee to redraft S1117, to make it about encouraging, rather than mandating, safety gear.

You can view an original copy of the testimony here.
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