Bicyclists and Pedestrians

GHSA does not track state pedestrian safety laws but does track bicycle helmet laws in states where they have been enacted. Few states have enacted bicycle helmet laws. While GHSA only tracks state laws, many localities require helmet use for some or all bicyclists.

  • 21 states, the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands have a helmet law for bicyclists below a certain age, generally about 16.
    • Only the Virgin Islands and Guam require helmets for all bicyclists.
  • The remaining (unlisted) 29 states and Puerto Rico have no bicycle helmet law.

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Laws last reviewed by SHSOs in March 2023.

Short Term Description
GHSA does not track state pedestrian safety laws but does track bicycle helmet laws in states where they have been enacted.
New Mexico
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 18.

West Virginia
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 15.

Virgin Islands
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders.

Tennessee
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

Rhode Island
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

Pennsylvania
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 12.

Oregon
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

Northern Mariana Islands
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 18.

North Carolina
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

New York
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders 1 year or older and under 14. Children under 1 prohibited.

New Jersey
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 17.

New Hampshire
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

Massachusetts
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 17.

Maryland
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

Maine
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16. $25 fine for a second or subsequent violation.

Louisiana
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 12.

Hawaii
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

Guam
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders.

Georgia
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

Florida
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

District of Columbia
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

Delaware
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 18.

Connecticut
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

California
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 18.

Alabama
Bike helmets required?

Bicycle helmets required for all riders under 16.

Road Crash Deaths Drop, But Remain Higher Than Before Pandemic

“This recent trend toward fewer deaths on our nation’s roads is welcome news,” Jonathan Adkins, chief executive officer of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said in a statement, “but these decreases pale in comparison to the troubling and unprecedented rise in dangerous driving and fatalities experienced during the height of the pandemic.”

The Pedestrian Safety Crisis in America

Pedestrian deaths in the United States have surged, reaching numbers unseen not just in the past few years, but in decades. The number of pedestrians struck and killed by vehicles reached—and then surpassed—a 40-year high in 2021, according to the latest national data released by the Governors Highways Safety Association, a nonprofit representation of US state and territorial highway safety offices.

A Fatal Crash Shows Us Everything That’s Wrong with Traffic Enforcement

“We’re at a pivot point from the way it was to the way it will be in the future. We, as a community, are trying to figure out what we need to change in order to preserve the benefits from traffic enforcement but to correct systemic problems we see,” Russ Martin, GHSA’s senior director of policy and government relations, told Vox.

Seeing a Safer City

The United States has become a dangerous place to be a pedestrian. In 2022, more than 20 pedestrians were killed each day, the highest number in 40 years, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Between 2010 and 2021, pedestrian deaths increased 77%. In Richmond, there have been 88 pedestrian-involved traffic crashes since the beginning of the year, resulting in 86 pedestrian injuries and four deaths.

Why Pedestrian Deaths in the US Are at a 40-Year High

How many deaths does it take to get the government to take a crisis seriously? That’s the question raised by the Governors Highway Safety Association’s latest preliminary report on pedestrian deaths in 2022. The annual overview of state data on pedestrian fatalities helps the public and policymakers get a better understanding of the overall picture of road safety in the US.

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