By Brendan Kolding

King County Board of Health Code 9.15 designates the failure to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle a civil infraction.  Law enforcement officers are empowered to stop people who are riding without a helmet and to issue a ticket.  The fine is $30 before court fees.  The purpose of this ordinance is "to protect and preserve the public health and welfare."  This is an incentive to be safe, similar to SMC 11.58.198, which requires occupants of motor vehicles to wear seat belts.    

Seattle Municipal Court data show that from 2003 to 2020 Black and Native American / Alaska Native bicycle riders were cited for violating the helmet ordinance at a rate two to four times that of white cyclists.  There is now a movement underway to repeal KCBHC 9.15 on the grounds of inequitable enforcement.  This movement seems to have the support of King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles.  

Those in favor of repealing the helmet mandate do not appear to be alleging biased policing or pretextual seizures.  Rather, they simply argue that helmets are cost-prohibitive for many members of minority communities, and so requiring them to use one is unfair.  But this law is on the books in order to keep people safe, just like SMC 11.58.198 and the myriad other pieces of legislation that govern the use of equipment and conveyances.  Repealing KCBHC 9.15 will not make it safe to ride a bike without a helmet, but will certainly encourage more people to do so.  

This is part of an alarming trend (I feel like I use that term a lot) of attempting to void laws that are difficult or inconvenient to enforce.  Misdemeanors committed by addicts, the homeless, and the mentally-ill are a huge problem that will not be solved by decriminalization.  Urban camping is unsafe, unhealthy, and undignified, and remains so despite the lack of political will to enforce the applicable laws.  I could go on but I think I have made my point: we have laws that were written for the health and welfare of all and failing to enforce them does not address the root problems.

If the County Council determines that the price of a bike helmet is preventing people from owning one and causing them to be cited, they should look at ways to get helmets onto people's heads.  A helmet voucher program would be a relatively cheap way to serve the purpose of KCBHC 9.15.  The focus should be on protecting people from potentially life-threatening injury, not from a nominal fee.   

We lack strong leadership at all levels of government here in King County.  Strong leaders would be advocating for true solutions to issues like homelessness, poverty, crime, addiction, and mental illness, not looking for ways to paper over them.  If equity really is the goal, it is not served by making people less safe.

Brendan Kolding is a former Seattle Police officer and has run for Seattle City Council