Halifax Helmet Reform
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“ I grew up skateboarding in Halifax, when skating with a helmet was a choice you could make without police harassment. Now I live in Vancouver. I have friends who have gone to Nova Scotia to live or vacation and have left NS because they could not tolerate the helmet fines they were being handed for practicing their favorite out-door sport. Skateboarding in Vancouver is an enormous, thriving scene, and the cops leave us alone, as they should.
Skateboarding promotes positive, active communities. Let’s see some more respect for skateboarding in NS; if there must be a helmet law, make it for those 16 years old and under.
Also, auto insurance should not be connected to helmet-law infractions. If we allow our laws to go down this path, people will be losing their auto-insurance for just about any law infraction.
Please repeal this law on helmets and reconsider the auto-insurance no-deal also. Bring N.S. up-to-date and support your athletes!
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“This is important to me, not because I prefer to not wear a helmet, but because there is a unique optimal solution to this issue, and it’s clear that it has not been achieved. The solution is not simple, and it requires our input. Perhaps this petition will make this more locally apparent.” -
“It’s absurd. I’ve been skating my whole life and grew up wearing a helmet, but matured to the point that i didn’t need one anymore. It is unacceptable to force those kind of laws on someone.” -
“Effectively, this legislation works to demonize youth and discourage sport and exercise. Making helmets mandatory in skateparks for those under 16 is justifiable to a certain extent, but this policy is less about health and safety than about providing police and legislators with tools to tackle a youth counter-culture they do not understand and fear. The proposed legislation works to discourage skateboarding into adulthood by stacking ridiculous consequences (increased auto insurance) to completely unrelated ‘offenses’ (which, when in a public skatepark, are really not offenses to anyone) This is not about safety and it’s definitely not democracy.” -
“I am a skateboarder and once you are experienced enough to control your board there is no need for a helmet, Helmet laws shoulden’t be forced, It takes away from the art and sport of skateboarding.” -
“ Skateboarding is one of the most popular cultures in nova scotia among youth, this law deter’s youth from participating in an active lifestyle and culture that is based physic’s and the law’s of freedom.
This law has no merit towards the safety of skateboarder’s. You cannot create law’s to keep people safe by punishment of fine, it is a rediculous misconception contrived by governments world wide that law’s will keep citizen’s safe from them selves. Like many more examples of this breach of power this one is also damaging to the cape breton region especially. Youth who depend on skateboarding as a lifestyle for the fact that there are no other recreational development for individuals. A complete lack of funding towards facility’s where youth can be safe from the drug’s and alcohol associated with a declining economy.
Skateboarding is the one thing that these youth have and are proud to be part of the community for and to deter that activity with senseless enforcement of law’s that will have no real result’s drive’s me to oppose this piece of legislation.
skateboarding is not a crime.
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My introduction to Nova Scotia
Two weeks after moving here to start my post-university life, I was skateboarding to print resumes at Staples. I had no clue about the helmet law, and was stopped near Metro Centre. There was a mandate to enforce the law with no exceptions during that month, so even showing my Saskatchewan driver’s license wasn’t a help. I got a $140 ticket. I haven’t skateboarded since.
Two weeks ago, my friends were kicked off of Wentworth for snowboarding without helmets. That’s the lat time we’ll be snowboarding in Nova Scotia, too.
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Should people who live in very cold climates should have laws that require them to wear gloves in case of frostbite? Or should you be able to judge that for yourself? What about a law for wearing sunscreen when the sun is out? Skin cancer is easily preventable.
Health care is for everyone. The stupid, and the responsible. I would like to live in a society where everyone is educated enough to make educated decisions.
From what I can see, the smallest difference these guys are trying to make is that getting caught without a helmet on a board, bike or scooter doesn’t affect your car insurance. The biggest difference would be to make this a personal decision that comes with great responsibility, after the age of 16.
Everyone knows a helmet will prevent minor head injuries, and if you chose not to wear one…. you know what? It was your choice.
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Skateboarding is a form of exercise, expression, transportation, and self confidence. Skateboarders are interesting, creative, active people. This law prolongs negative stereotypes of skateboarders everywhere painting them as criminals. This is an age where we need to enhance a positive working relationship between police and skaters. Surely everyone can agree that we do not need laws to enforce personal responsibilities. That is a very slippery slope indeed.
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“I am currently 18 years young and have been skating for 13 of these years and i come from a small town called westville, nova scotia which thrives on taking skateboards and fining the few people who actually skate in such an underpopulated area so this made me think of how bad it must be in such a big growing city. It’s a shame to say that i wont be able to get even my beginners license until i have my fines from skateboarding paid because it is categorized under the motor vehicle act, i’ll understand this once all the big important local hockey leagues have laws under the motor vehicle act which isnt even a possibility so why skateboards , rollerskates and bicycles? help us out here please”
