08/19/09 Bend

In this, ‘You ask; We answer,' Kerry in Sunriver asks, "I am very curious about the helmet law in regards to infants and young children who ride on the attached trailers behind bicycles. I have seen more and more young children who are riding in these trailers but with no helmets. It is my impression that these children are considered passengers and should wear helmets, but I hesitate to say anything because I have been unable to interpret the law regarding this. Can you interpret the law for me? Are these children supposed to wear helmets?"

If the child  is under sixteen years old and has anything to do with a bike, that child must wear a helmet regardless of whether he or she is riding the bike or just sitting in the back in a bike trailer.

"Make sure, that what ever helmet you get, it fits well, and if you're an infant and the helmet is too big for them, don't put them on the bicycle," says Steve Esslestyn with Bend Police. 

Here is a link to Oregon's Bicyclist Manual with all the rules: 

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/docs/bike_manual_06.pdf

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