Sometimes safety measures that make the most sense are the hardest ones to get enacted as laws by the government - but when they are legislated, the benefits in reduced deaths and injuries helps make all the efforts worthwhile.

A case in point is a drive currently underway in Saskatchewan to make wearing bike safety helmets mandatory is receiving some criticism from people who perceive it as an unnecessary intrusion by the government.

Those behind the drive want to get several municipalities on board, and then they will approach the provincial government for a province-wide law.

There are parallels to the recent push to get smoking in public places banned at the provincial level; some municipalities, like Weyburn, were reluctant to do so on their own, and instead want the province to mandate such a law. After some years of lobbying, the province is ready to do just that as of Jan. 1, 2005.

In regard to bike safety helmets, the benefits of such a law are fairly obvious. Helmets are relatively inexpensive and can save a bike rider years of pain and suffering from a head injury caused by falling off a bike.

Currently in Canada there are five provinces who have such a law, including B.C., Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. What's more, research done in those provinces on the law's effectiveness have proven there are benefits.

One study carried out by Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, reported in the medical journal Pediatrics late last fall, looked at 9,650 children aged five to 19 who were hospitalized for bike-related head injuries. In the provinces where bike helmets are mandatory, bike-related head injuries declined by 45 per cent; in the provinces that have not made bike helmets mandatory, such injuries were reduced by 27 per cent.

In some of those provinces with helmet laws, they are only applicable to children. This makes sense to an extent, in that our children are more apt to be involved in a mishap as they learn to ride their bicycle than a seasoned adult rider.

For such a practice to be widely accepted and obeyed, however, it would be much more effective if adults also wore their helmets, and set a good example for their children and for other children in their community.

Head injuries, even minor ones, can have long-lasting effects, so it really makes sense for adults to also be wearing the helmets.

One argument being voiced against such a law is that the government shouldn't be telling adults what they should or shouldn't do when riding their bicycles.

The silly thing is this kind of argument was commonly heard when the government moved to make seatbelt-wearing mandatory in motor vehicles. This is the same issue - that of the safety of the public - and seatbelt laws are now commonplace throughout the country. It just makes sense to wear one's seatbelt, just as it's sensible to wear a helmet when riding a bike. You never know when you're going to need it, and if you are in a mishap, you'll be glad you used it. - G.N.