Bicycle Safety
North Carolina Bike Helmet Law:
This law requires every person under 16 years old to wear an approved bicycle helmet when operating a bicycle on any public road, public bicycle path, or other public right-of-way. In addition this law specifies that all child passengers falling at or below 40 pounds/40 inches, must be carried in a separate restraining seat. Any parent or legal guardian who knowingly allows a child to ride without a helmet or to ride as a passenger not secured in a restraining seat (when applicable), will be in violation of the law. Violation of the law carries a $10 civil fine. The fine may be waived upon the receipt of satisfactory proof of purchase of helmet or restraining seat.
Mecklenburg County Commissioners passed a local ordinance in 1997, before the state law, requiring children under 16 to wear a helmet at County parks and greenways when on a bike, scooter, or skateboard.
North Carolina Bicycle Crash Incidence and Prevalence
- In North Carolina, a bicyclist is killed or injured approximately every six hours.
- One out of every three bicyclists killed in NC is under age 16.
- Each year, an estimated 800 children are hospitalized in NC for bicycle-related injuries; an additional 13,300 receive emergency treatment.
Bicycle Helmet Effectiveness
- Bicycle helmets prevent 60% of head injury deaths.
- Bicycle helmets reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85% and the risk of brain injury by as much as 88%.
North Carolina Bicycle Helmet Usage
- According to study by the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, fewer than 24% of all bicyclists in North Carolina currently wear a bicycle helmet when riding on the road.
- Helmet usage varies greatly by region of the state, by location and by age.
- Children between the ages of 6-18 are significantly less likely to wear a helmet than are adults or young children carried in a child seat on the back of a bicycle despite passage of the mandatory helmet use legislation.
If you would like more information on bike safety or to find a bicycle safety rodeo course in Mecklenburg County, please contact Safe Kids Charlotte Mecklenburg.
-- Data from the UNC Highway Safety Research Center
