02 July 2015
The Minister for Transport and Technical Services, Deputy Eddie Noel, joined students from Bel Royal School today to find out why it's important to wear a cycle helmet and how to wear it properly.
During a school assembly held jointly by Jersey's road safety officer and Headway, Deputy Noel handed out over a dozen free helmets to the nursery students to use on school cycle rides.
Cycle tracks and housing estates
Transport and Technical Services (TTS) and the States Police departments purchased helmets from Headway and will be distributing these via the Education Department and Youth Service to groups of students across the Island.
The Jersey Cycle Helmet Law came into effect on 6 October 2014, making it mandatory for all children aged 13 years of age and under to wear an approved cycle helmet when riding their bikes on the road. This includes cycle tracks and housing estates.
Deputy Noel said “This morning I had the opportunity to go back to school where I was reminded about the importance of wearing a cycling helmet and how to fit it properly on my head. I always wear my helmet when I am cycling. With the warm dry weather planned for the following months and more families out cycling, we are continuing to remind youngsters how they can look cool, feel good and feel safe when wearing a helmet.”
Introduction of the law
Road Safety Officer Philip Blake added “From a road safety perspective, cycle helmets are really important. We really hope the introduction of the law will help parents to get their children to wear a helmet whenever they ride their bike. If your child doesn’t comply with the law, yes you can be fined, but we hope we don’t have to do that, we only want to see children wearing safety helmets. Road safety will be one of the main scenarios covered at next week’s Safety in Action Week. If you need more information, get in touch with the police.”
The cycle helmet campaign is being delivered by States of Jersey Police and TTS with the support of Headway. The law supports the Road Traffic (No. 60) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 and the Pedal Cycles (Amendment No 2) (Jersey) Order 2014. Since the campaign began, schools have held more than 20 assemblies on the topic.
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