So, here’s the thing: @chrisivy is not wrong. I say this as a regular bike rider who fell and smacked my head on the ground not that long ago and was very VERY thankful that I always wear a helmet. 1/x https://twitter.com/chrisivy/status/1339245712073080833

I’ve spent time talking to advocates, reading recent literature and thinking about this conundrum: I absolutely agree that helmets are important for safety, but does that mean they should be required by law with criminal consequences for failing to wear one? 2/x

This article points out a truth: when we adopt criminally-enforceable laws and either don’t intend to or just fail to consistently enforce them, the result is, predictably, disproportionate and biased enforcement. Very commonly based on race, here based on homelessness. 3/x

I found this quote interesting from Dr. Fred Rivara, UW Medicine's chief of general pediatrics, a helmet advocate: “I still firmly believe in the importance of helmets. Whether having a law enforced now would help to boost that, I don’t know. It’s an open question.”4/x

The KC requirement in Seattle & other cities was adopted by the KC Board of Health. A few years ago, I asked that this issue be brought up & studied at the Board of Health which would have been consistent with our approach to criminalization, bias & public health issues. 5/x

The chair at that time was unwilling to bring it up. I still think this is worth a discussion in light of findings like the one in this article. I will advocate for this again in 2021. To be clear, my goal would be to maximize helmet wearing and bicycle safety. . . 6/x

. . . while not unnecessarily criminalizing normal human behavior nor providing an excuse to stop people who are singled out in hopes of finding other violations, as stated in the article by the always-excellent active transportation leader @BarbChamberlain. 7/x

Please see this article and thread, @PurpleHayesRN @KCPubHealth and Board of Health representatives @JoeMcDermottWA @KCCKohlWelles @CMTMosqueda - none of whom, to be clear, were the target of earlier advocacy. I hope you will join me in taking a new look at an old approach. /end