# Seattle repeals 1993 law requiring the use of bicycle helmets because police use it to harrass minorities

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-repeals-1993-law-requiring-the-use-of-bicycle-helmets-because-police-use-it-to-harrass-minorities/959965>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 22, 2022, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-repeals-1993-law-requiring-the-use-of-bicycle-helmets-because-police-use-it-to-harrass-minorities/959965 "2022-02-22T19:01:54Z")\
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**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seattle-repeals-1993-law-requiring-the-use-of-bicycle-helmets-because-police-use-it-to-harrass-minorities/959965/4 "2022-02-22T19:22:09Z")

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Seems reasonable to me. If there were only 117 citations in five years, the law was tremendously underenforced. Tons of people fail to wear a helmet while cycling. Underenforced laws are really toxic to civil society and policing.

If there’s a rule, or a law, it should be enforced. Seeing a bunch of people ignoring rules and laws makes people think the rules are meaningless. Worse, rarely enforcing it gives police the discretion to use it as a tool to punish arbitrarily.

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