Sec. 14-286d. Bicycle helmets. Children. Renting bicycles. Public awareness campaign. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 14-286d. Bicycle helmets. Children. Renting bicycles. Public awareness campaign. (a) For the purposes of this section and section 14-286e, "bicycle" means any vehicle propelled by the person riding the same by foot or hand power.

      (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.

      (c) A law enforcement officer may issue a verbal warning to the parent or guardian of a child that such child has failed to comply with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section.

      (d) A person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of renting bicycles shall provide a bicycle helmet conforming 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 to any person under sixteen years of age who will operate the bicycle if such person does not have a helmet in his possession. A fee may be charged for the helmet rental. Violation of any of the provisions of this subsection shall be an infraction.

      (e) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection may establish, within available appropriations, a public awareness campaign to educate the public concerning the dangers of riding bicycles without helmets and to promote the use of safety helmets while riding bicycles.

      (P.A. 93-286, S. 2; 93-292, S. 1-4; P.A. 96-180, S. 43, 166; P.A. 97-46; P.A. 00-196, S. 12; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(c); P.A. 04-189, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 93-286 added provision to Subsec. (b) specifying that failure to wear headgear shall not be considered contributory negligence on part of parent or child nor shall failure be admissible in any civil action; P.A. 96-180 amended Subsec. (b) to add "Snell Memorial Foundation's Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling" as alternative organization establishing specifications for protective headgear, effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 97-46 amended Subsec. (b) to require children 15 years of age and under to wear protective headgear and to delete "under twelve" re age of child; P.A. 00-196 added reference to Sec. 14-286e in Subsec. (a); June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Consumer Protection with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004.