Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute

Connecticut's Bicycle Helmet Law

Summary: Connecticut's bicycle helmet law

Senate Bill No. 597
Public Act No. 97-46

An Act Requiring Children Fifteen Years of
Age and Under to Wear Bicycle Helmets

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Subsection (b) of section 14-286d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof:

(b)No child FIFTEEN years of age OR UNDER shall operate a bicycle on the traveled portion of any highway unless such child is wearing protective headgear which conforms to the minimum specifications established by the American National Standards Institute or the Snell Memorial Foundation's Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling. Failure to comply with this section shall not be a violation or an offense. Failure to wear protective headgear as required by this subsection shall not be considered to be contributory negligence on the part of the parent or the child nor shall such failure be admissible in any civil action.


Footnote: The text above was edited for clarity to remove the old "under 12" language that was replaced by the words in all capitalized letters.