Dallas' Helmet Ordinance A Road Block For Bike-Share Plans
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - When Dallas Councilman Philip Kingston rides his bicycle, he wears a helmet.
He says we all should, especially children, and yet Kingston is leading an effort to repeal the city's bicycle helmet ordinance.
Dallas is the only city in Texas to require children and adults to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle.
The councilman says in order for Dallas to start a bike share program, much like the B-Cycle program in Fort Worth, the city can't realistically require helmets.
The city could rent helmets at the self-service bicycle share stations but Kingston say that would not be popular, likening it to "renting bowling shoes for your head."
When Dallas passed the ordinance in 1996 requiring people of all ages to wear a bicycle helmet, Dallas resident Marc Melloy said he started wearing a helmet all the time when rode.
Last year he said it paid off when he toppled over the hood of a truck that had crossed into his bicycle lane.
"I think if I didn't have a helmet on I would have had a big knot on my head," said Melloy.
Kingston said he is confident the helmet ordinance will be repealed and hopes to have a bicycle share program implemented in Dallas by next year.
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