CT Bicycle Helmet Laws

The Law

Connecticut State Law states that no person age 15 or under can ride a bicycle without a helmet on any highway or road traveled by any motor vehicle. The helmet must meet the minimum specifications of the American National Standards Institute or the Snell Memorial Foundations Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling. Any person in the business of renting bicycles must provide a helmet that meets these standards to any person under the age of 16 if he or she does not have a helmet in their possession. The business may charge a rental fee for providing helmets. Public awareness campaigns and fundraisers are also allowed to help promote the awareness of wearing protective headgear while riding bicycles.

Violations of the Law

Failure to abide by the Connecticut Bicycle Helmet Law is not an offense or violation. Officers of the law can issue verbal warnings to the parents and guardians of the child not wearing protective headgear. Failure to wear the proper headgear while riding a bicycle cannot be considered a negligent act against the parent or child and cannot be used in any civil cases. Any business that rents bicycles and fails to provide adequate helmets will be cited for the infraction. It isn't a criminal offense to not wear a bicycle helmet.

Statistics

Different studies have given estimates of anywhere from 45 percent to 88 percent of cyclist's brain injuries would have been prevented by wearing protective headgear while riding. People who do not wear helmets are 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than those who wear protective headgear. The health care cost of not wearing a helmet has reached an estimated at $81 million each year and rising. The average number of children under age 16 involved in a fatal accident is 107 and collisions with a motorized vehicle made up over 75 percent of bicycle fatalities.