Bike Accident Injures Kids in Rockland, MA

Two girls were injured in a bike accident earlier today in Rockland, Massachusetts. According to The Patriot Ledger, one girl was pedaling and the other girl was standing on the pegs of the back wheel when the bike hit an SUV.  Neither girl was wearing a helmet.

Massachusetts Helmet Law

Massachusetts law requires all children under the age of 16 to wear a helmet when operating a bicycle.  Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 85, Section 11B 1/2 provides as follows:

Any person 16 years of age or younger operating in line skates, a skate board, a scooter or other manually-propelled wheeled vehicle or riding as a passenger on any such manually-propelled vehicle on a public way, bicycle path or on any other public right-of-way shall wear a helmet. Such helmet shall fit the person’s head and be secured by straps at all times while operating in line skates, scooters, skate board or other manually-propelled wheeled vehicle and shall meet the standards for helmets established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z 90.4) or subsequent standards or the Snell Memorial Foundation’s 1984 standard for use in bicycling or subsequent standards. a violation of this section shall not be used as evidence of contributory negligence in a civil action.

A city or town shall not adopt any by-laws or ordinances to change the standards required by this section.

If you or your child have been injured in a bike accident, you should contact an experienced Cambridge bike accident attorney to discuss your legal rights.