Hawke's Bay cycle helmet fines fall almost 80 per cent

Fines for not wearing a helmet have fallen almost 80 per cent in the wider Bay region since 2014. Photo/FILE

Fines for not wearing helmets while cycling have fallen almost 80 per cent in Hawke's Bay over the last three years.

The number of cyclists in the Eastern district penalised by police for not wearing head protection has fallen from 1393 in 2014 to 315 last year - a 77 per cent drop.

The Eastern district covered Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti.

Owner of The Hub Cycle Centre in Hastings, Robert Oliver, said he thought police weren't so concerned with the offence.

"I've noticed them not bothering about people not wearing helmets... I think they've got so much on their plate with other things that minor things like that slip by," Mr Oliver said.

A cyclist could be fined $55 for not wearing a helmet and it has been mandatory in New Zealand since 1994.

Superintendent Stephen Greally said safety on the road was a priority for police, whether the road user was in a car, on a bike, or using some other form of transport.

"There has been no change in the way police enforce laws for bicycle related offences," he said.

"When an officer attends a job, they are responsible to assessing the situation and providing an appropriate response to ensure the safety of the public.

"The response from an officer could range from an infringement notice to a warning or prevention advice, this decision is made at the officer's discretion."

Mr Oliver said helmet use should be a personal decision for adults, and said he'd estimate around 80 per cent of Bay cyclists do.

"Personally, I'd never not wear a helmet.

"You only have to have a situation... where people's inattention creates accidents, and you're in trouble. If you haven't got a helmet on, you're quite likely to be dead."

He said "1 in 1000" serious cyclists would bike without a helmet, and it tended to be commuters and casual riders who didn't.

Nationwide, fines for failing to wear a helmet halved in the past three years, from 9936 to 4748 last year.

Cycling Action Network's Patrick Morgan agreed the fall in helmet infringements seemed to be a result of changing police priorities.

"I think it's just police have better things to do than stop people on bikes and fine them for helmet use or misuse," Mr Morgan said.

"I welcome police resources going into higher priorities."

Mr Morgan says there is "thin" evidence that mandatory helmet use laws work, and that Australia and New Zealand are the only two countries that have such a law.

"There's enough evidence that mandatory bicycle helmets hasn't worked as intended, and that's why it's our policy to review the law, to see if it's working as intended - but it's not our top priority."

He said CAN's position was not a call for making helmets optional, but to review the wider effects of helmet-wearing legislation.

Mr Morgan said he doesn't normally wear a helmet when cycling on the road. He has a legal exemption - on medical grounds as he said helmets gave him headaches and migraines. He said he was stopped three or four times per year.

"I wear it if I do something dangerous, like mountain biking or something risky like that. But [not if I'm] just riding around my neighbourhood or on a separate New Zealand cycle trail."