5 minutes Date Enacted: Aug 1, 2013
All bicyclists (regardless of age) must wear a helmet. Effective 8/1/2013. Citation: Title 9 Bicycle Helmets
King County, Washington, which includes Seattle, requires all bicyclists to wear helmets regardless of age. The intent of this policy is to reduce the chance of head injuries in accidents. The regulation has major implications for bikeshare services, because riders must bring a helmet or be able to borrow one along with a bicycle. Seattle’s bikesharing program, Pronto, is providing helmets for riders and cleaning them between uses. While hundreds of jurisdictions in the United States require bicycle helmets for children, only a couple dozen require helmets for all ages. Some cities have changed their helmet laws recently do to the bikeshare issue, such as Dallas did in 2014.