Should people on skateboards and roller skates in Portland have to wear helmets? A mandatory, all-ages helmet law is part of a draft of the new skate ordinance city council will consider next week.

Portland currently has some of the most progressive skate laws in the country, granting skateboarders the same rights on the road as cyclists. But as downhill longboarding in the city has exploded in the past couple years, residents of the Arlington Heights neighborhood have been pushing city council to outlaw skateboarding on the steep streets around Washington Park. Earlier this summer, council put off voting on a skate ban until September, opting to educate skaters and crack down on bad behavior rather than trying to ban the activity altogether.

Over the past few months, skaters, neighbors, police, and city planners have hashed out this new ordinance, as well as putting together a campaign called Skate Friendly PDX that includes a pretty hilarious safety video.

In addition to the helmet law, the policy increases the maximum traffic ticket for a skater from $25 to $250 and bans skating on the controversial SW Portland streets from 10pm to 7am. That’s no-night-skating change is actually a move that skaters involved in the process support.

“Each side has to give for people to be happy,” says downhill skater Billy “Bones” Meiners, who helps run the Skate Friendly PDX campaign. “Skateboarders aren’t going to leave, but the least we can try to be respectful and not noisy. We have to work with the neighbors.”

But the helmet law is a bad move, say Meiners and other skaters, who say they’ll fight the proposal at council if the helmet law language isn’t struck. He also takes issue with the language in the ordinance that spells some rules for how to skateboard, like riding single-file and saying that “no person shall operate a skateboard recklessly or in such a manner or at such a speed as to cause or threaten to cause injury to himself.” Portland currently requires helmets for all people on bikes and skateboards who are under 16.

“I think helmets are a great idea, but helmet laws are very foolish,” says Meiners.

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

8 replies on “Draft Plan Calls for Citywide Skate Helmet Law and Ban on Skating SW Hills After 10PM”

  1. So what exactly is the problem with helmets? The best I could find was some website from an Austin cyclist that basically equated to “PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO WEAR HELMETS SO THEY’LL STOP BIKING CAUSING THEM TO DRIVE AND MAKE POLLUTION”.

    So if you think helmets are great, why are helmet laws bad?

  4. I cracked my skull whilst skateboarding without a helmet, when I was 11. I’m all about helmets these days. I do NOT support a helmet law.

  5. “So if you think helmets are great, why are helmet laws bad?”

    Yes… everything that’s a good idea must be legally enforced by the government. What a good idea. Which I guess means that your idea should itself be enforced by the government.

  6. Like bicycle helmet laws in Oregon, people under 16 should be required to wear helmets while skating.

    Otherwise, older skaters can decide for themselves to wear one or not.

  7. I still haven’t gotten a good answer as to why someone that believes helmets are a good idea would be opposed to a helmet law. I understand if you question whether or not helmets help, but if you do think helmets are good what is the downside to a helmet law?

    Sorry guys, didn’t mean to imply some horrible dystopian world in which skateboarders wear helmets. I understand why you’re so irate.

  8. The obvious downside to a helmet law is getting a ticket from Police, or any Police contact at all. Personally I try to avoid it. I wear a helmet by CHOICE and that really is how you should arrive at the decision to wear one. You should THINK about the consequences of your actions and exercise the appropriate amount of common sense. Bombing a hill may constitute the necessity of a helmet but a trip to Plaid Pantry may not. With a law in place instead of a harmless ride to the corner store it becomes a negative and unnecessary interaction with the Police, wasting their time and your, and taking your hard earned cash out of your pocket and putting it in theirs.

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