Spokane gets new helmet law after all

Riding a bicycle or skateboard without a helmet soon will be illegal in the city of Spokane.

Monday night, the Spokane City Council overrode Mayor Jim West’s first veto to enact a helmet law for cyclists, skaters and boarders of all ages within the city limits. The law will take effect in 30 days.

“I think it’s important that we have this ordinance,” Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers said.

The override came less than five hours after West had vetoed the proposal, saying it covers too many activities and would take effect too soon. He also wanted to limit the helmet requirements to those age 16 and under.

“It’s clear an ordinance relating to bicycles is necessary,” West said in his veto message. But the law also covers skateboarders, roller skaters and in-line skaters and could be unenforceable on those points, he said.

“Unenforced laws become meaningless and devalue all laws,” he said.

Paul Stepak, epidemiologist with the Spokane Regional Health District, said he was disappointed in the mayor’s veto. Some 1,200 cyclists who were not wearing helmets were treated at area hospitals last year for head, neck and face injuries, he said. Adults should be required to wear helmets just as they are required to wear seat belts, he said.

“There’s ample justification for it,” Stepak said in urging the council to override the veto.

The council briefly considered waiting two weeks before voting whether to override, an effort Councilman Joe Shogan described as “deference to the mayor.”

At an afternoon news conference, West listed several problems he had with the proposed law.

If signed, it would take effect in 30 days; the mayor said he’d like an education program first that involved the health district, the Spokane School District and the city. It would make more sense to have the law take effect Jan. 1, he argued.

The city should coordinate with the health district, the county and other incorporated areas in Spokane County to enact a helmet law that doesn’t stop at the Spokane city limits, West also said.

Because statistics show that children under age 16 suffer the most ill-effects from not wearing helmets, the law should be limited to that age group, he said.

West also wondered if local stores have enough helmets on hand to meet the demand if they became mandatory. By delaying the law until the beginning of the year, stores could stock up, and “helmets become a great gift opportunity,” he said.

But those points were considered in council hearings on the ordinance, Council President Dennis Hession said. “I don’t think a delay is going to provide us with any additional information.”

Public comments on the veto echoed comments at previous hearings. Some residents talked about the devastating effects of accidents, while others argued that adults, at least, should be able to decide for themselves whether to wear a helmet.

Councilman Al French argued it was “time to put this behind us and move forward.”

Hession, French, Rodgers, Shogan and Mary Verner voted to override the veto, while Councilman Bob Apple, the only council member who voted against the original ordinance, voted to sustain the veto. Councilman Brad Stark was absent.

Because the city charter doesn’t give West the option of vetoing only the sections of a proposed law he doesn’t like, he vetoed the whole thing.

While insisting he was not “inviting an override,” he did note that the council had passed the law with one more vote than it needed to override his veto. The city has a form of government that provides for a strong mayor and a strong council, he said.

Hession described the council’s override of the mayor’s first veto as “an example of good government” under the city’s separation of powers.