The Law Offices of James M. Freeman, P.C.

Deerfield did it right with respect to their helmet law. Excerpted below, Deerfield's village code requires persons under the age of 16 to use a helmet, it provides for standards the helmet must meet, and it allows that proof of compliance within 10 days after the violation may be used as a defense. More importantly, Deerfield built in language that prohibits a lack of helmet to be used against a cyclist in a civil suit. This means that drivers who negligently hit a cyclist who was not wearing a helmet will not be able to assert the lack of helmet as evidence of contributory negligence.

While there is no statewide helmet law, many municipalities have municipal ordinances requiring helmets. If you are riding through any city with a helmet law and you have no helmet you risk being charged and convicted of a helmet violation. You should be aware of local helmet laws to avoid any trouble.

In Chicago there is a requirement that bicycle messengers have a helmet and safety vest:

Insurance adjusters are typically not experienced in dealing with bicycle accidents. Sometimes they are provided with a list of questions to address when evaluating bicycle claims, but they don't typically seem to be familiar with laws that apply to cyclists in Illinois. One of the questions insurance adjusters always ask me about my bicycle cases is, "Was he/she wearing a helmet?"

We want to make bicycles easy to use. We want to encourage people to use them. The way to do this is not by adding restrictions to the use of bicycles.

I have heard arguments made that suggest that helmets are ineffective or actually cause some types of injuries, however, my personal experience leads me to believe that helmets have saved my life more than once. I will not argue that helmets are ineffective. Personally, I strongly believe they are very effective.