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There's been some discussion on the Cycling in Auckland site about whether helmets are legally required on off-road cycle paths.
I understood there was no legal requirement except on the road. Can anyone clarify?
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Re: Helmets on paths
The interpretation clause (1.6) of the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004 (where the helmet law is finddefines 'road' as including (d) a place to which the public have access, whether as of right or not. It's an extremely wide definition so I'd be inclined to say that yes, helmets are almost certainly required. I couldn't find any case law or commentary to confirm this though.
A possible exception might be where the track is on private land and not open to the public (i.e. through a commercial venture).
I'm not a lawyer though, so don't take this as any kind of legal advice.