New protection for kids' heads

Thursday 02 October 2014

You’ll be breaking the law if you let your kids out on their bikes without a helmet from next week and could face a £50 fine.

All under-14s riding their bikes on the Island’s roads or cycle tracks will have to wear them from Monday.

The law was approved back in July but the States wanted to give parents whose children didn’t already have a helmet time to buy one.

Housing Minister Andrew Green, whose son was left with a brain injury after falling off his bike, has been keen to see a law in place for a number of years. He became a campaigner for brain injury charity Headway, and is now the chairman of the charity in the UK, having been made an MBE for his charity work.

Both children and parents could face fines if youngsters are caught without a helmet.

Children sitting in a trailer pulled along by a bike also have to wear them but the law won’t apply to riding bikes on the beach nor on cycle tracks if the bike has four or more wheels.

Young Sikhs wearing turbans won’t have to wear one either.

Helmets have to be done up and securely fastened, must be the right size and must be no more than 10 years old.