Readers React: Adult cyclists don’t need a helmet law

To the editor: Bicycling is far safer than the public believes, and the risks rise predictably as riding increases. Half of all reported bike accidents are solo falls, a simple failure to keep the rubber side down. Helmets reduce head trauma in these minor cases. (“Cyclist groups’ objections to helmet law are absurd,” Readers React, March 11)

But while the media love to quote stats about increasing “collisions,” the sad fact is helmets do little or nothing in a collision with a car. Promoters of the law dodge this issue.

The good news is most adults who ride regularly choose to buy and wear helmets — you don’t need to mandate their use. Kids are a different story, and California has a rational helmet law that protects the young and squirrelly from their inevitable falls.

But we don’t need to treat adults like children. State Sen. Carol Liu’s (D-La Cañada Flintridge) bill requiring adults on bikes to wear helmets does just that.

Pete van Nuys, San Clemente

The writer is executive director of the Orange County Bicycle Coalition.

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