Western Australia - Bicycles and Helmets

  • Many Australian states have provided for an exemption from the bicycle helmet requirement for Sikhs that wear a Dastaar.

  • Western Australia’s law provides a general exemption for Sikhs wishing to ride a bicycle without a helmet.

  • You can ride a bicycle in WA without a helmet if you:

    • are a Sikh

    • are wearing a turban, and

    • that turban makes it impractical to wear a bicycle helmet.

  • To ride a bike without a helmet, Sikhs need to be wearing a turban that makes it impractical to wear a bicycle helmet. A chotti Dastaar or small turban may not make it impractical to wear a bicycle helmet.

  • An extract of the applicable law regarding helmets and bicycles in Western Australia is contained below (emphasis added). 

Road Traffic Code 2000

Regulation 222.  Riders of bicycles to wear and ensure passengers wear protective helmets

(1) In this regulation and in regulation 223 —

protective helmet means a helmet that is, or is of a standard or type that is, approved by the CEO, for the purposes of this regulation, by notice in the Government Gazette.

(2) Except as provided in this regulation, a person must not ride a bicycle on a road or any path unless —

(a) that person is wearing a protective helmet securely fastened on his or her head; and

(b) where any other person is being carried on that bicycle, that other person is wearing a protective helmet securely fastened on his or her head.

Modified penalty: 1 PU

(3) Subregulation (2) does not apply to a person who —

(a) is a member of a religious or cultural group and who is wearing a headdress customarily worn by members of that group, if the wearing of that headdress makes it impractical for a person to wear a protective helmet; or

(b) has been exempted in writing by the Director General from wearing a protective helmet for medical reasons, and is complying with any terms and conditions of that exemption.

Relevant links (e.g. Media, Academic Papers, Opinions)

Letter confirming WA Sikh Bicycle Helmet Exemption in 1992

Government Gazette 24 December 1991

State specific Sikh bicycle helmet laws: