Rejected petition Make it a legal requirement for every cyclist on the road to wear a helmet.

Cyclists not wearing a safety helmet should be fined and educated, the same as car motorists, if they are seen not wearing a seat belt. With the increase in the cycling population, there needs to be set guidance, to ensure everyone on our roads is kept safe. Implementing a legal requirement for a cyclist to wear a helmet, not only protects the cyclists themselves, but possibly reduce the impact an injury without a helmet has on emergency departments in the NHS.

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As noted by the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents (2020); head injury has been identified as an important cause of death and serious injury in cycling collisions. One way in which cyclists can prevent or reduce the extent of a head injury in a cycling accident is to wear a cycle helmet.

Although highly recommended there is no such law in the UK to enforce helmet wearing for cyclists, despite the evidence showing the effectiveness at reducing the extent of head injuries. I am calling on the Welsh government to take a step forward and become the first country in the UK to make it law for cyclists to wear a helmet. To protect themselves from fatalities and serious injuries and to ease pressure on our emergency services. In 2022 cyclists accounted for 7% of casualties attending emergency departments (Reported road casualties Wales, 2022).

Why was this petition rejected?

It’s about something that the Senedd or Welsh Government is not responsible for.

The Government of Wales Act 2006 establishes the extent of the Senedd’s power to make new laws and amend existing law (also known as legislative competence). Schedules 7A and 7B of the 2006 Act set out the issues which are ‘restricted’ or ‘reserved’ - i.e. areas where the UK Parliament, not the Senedd, can legislate.
In order to make it a legal requirement for cyclists to wear helmets, a road traffic offence would have to be created for failing to do so. Road traffic offences are the responsibility of UK Parliament and not the Senedd or Welsh Government.
As a result, it is not possible for the Senedd to take the action called for by your petition.
Further information about the legislative powers of the Senedd can be found here:
https://senedd.wales/en/abthome/role-of-assembly-how-it-works/Pages/Powers.aspx

You may wish to consider petitioning the UK Parliament about this issue instead: https://petition.parliament.uk/

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards

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Date submitted 20 September 2023
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