British Columbia - Beanie’ helmets take a hit under new B.C. motorcycle safety rules

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Beanie’ helmets take a hit under new B.C. motorcycle safety rules

DAN FUMANO

VANCOUVER— The skull cap, a popular and iconic style of motorcycle helmet, will soon be outlawed, bringing B.C. safety rules in line with those of other provinces.
The helmet regulation is part of a new set of requirements aimed at making motorcycle rides safer, according to a Justice Ministry statement.
The month of May – Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in B.C. – will be a transition period. Then, effective June 1, all riders and passengers will not be allowed to wear the style known as beanies or skull caps.
More related to this story •Police seize bike believed to be in YouTube speed sensation •Harley-Davidson profit jumps, shares at five-year high •In defence of heavy metal thunder The beanie is especially popular with older riders in B.C., and is representative of a certain kind of biker culture, said Adele Tompkins, executive director of the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists. “For another month, anyway ... They called it the ‘B.C. beanie.’ ”
It’s the safety of the beanie that’s at issue. Darrin Richards, president of Synaptic Analysis Consulting Group and an expert in injury biomechanics, has conducted experiments and research on the subject. In a 2009 study, Mr. Richards conducted crash tests comparing “very severe collisions” with different helmets, and found the risk of a severe brain injury – one with a high probability of death – with a beanie helmet was more than 90 per cent. With a certified, full face-shield helmet, that probability dropped to less than 5 per cent.
In a common type of motorcycle accident, “if you were wearing an approved helmet, you might have a concussion or a sore head,” said Peter Cripton, an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at UBC and a member of the Brain Research Centre. “And if you were wearing a beanie helmet, you might have a skull fracture and bleeding in the brain. So it could be that kind of difference.”
Ms. Tompkins said she is opposed to any mandatory helmet laws, saying “it should be the individual’s choice.” She said that along with many of her coalition’s 6,000 members, she thinks that educating both motorcyclists and car drivers is more important for safety than helmets.
Another part of the new law dictates that passengers must have their feet on the floorboards or foot pegs at all times. Anyone who cannot reach the floorboards will no longer be permitted to ride as a passenger.
According to the provincial government, it is estimated that while motorcycles make up only about 3 per cent of insured vehicles in B.C., they account for approximately 10 per cent of road fatalities.