Compulsory cycle helmets for under-14s agreed

Friday 18 July 2014

Children under 14 will have to wear cycle helmets in future after politicians voted overwhelmingly to change the law.

Transport Minister Kevin Lewis took the proposal to the States after Members voted back in 2010 to draft a new law to protect young people from brain injuries. The original move was led by Housing Minister Andrew Green, whose son Christopher Christopher suffered a severe brain injury after a cycling accident aged just nine.

The Deputy, who is the chairman of the national brain injury charity Headway, thanked Members at the end of the debate.

During the debate, several Members questioned why the age threshold had been set at 14, and how the law would be enforced. But others drew parallels with recently enacted legislation to stop people smoking in cars carrying children, and said it was a straight-forward safety measure.

St Brelade Constable Steve Pallett urged politicians to get behind the law.

He said: “If it saves one life, if it stops one child ending up seriously injured then it’s worth it, and if the honorary police can help someone from getting killed, then great – that’s what it’s all about.”