Scooter helmet law changes for Rarotonga

Helmets now compulsory for all in Rarotonga

The Cook Islands government has recently amended the safety regulations one more time.

In recent years, and after much debate within the Rarotongan community, the Cook Islands government had already made wearing safety motorcycle helmets mandatory for all visitors as well as younger riders on Rarotonga. As it did not include most local residents, this law had caused some confusion. Some visitors could not understand why they had to wear a safety helmet on Rarotonga when many other riders didn’t.

This year the government has made more amendments to the act. It is now mandatory for every person riding on a scooter or motorcycle on Rarotonga to wear an approved motorcycle safety helmet. This includes any pillion (passenger), no matter whether the pillion is a child or adult.

Helmets not mandatory in outer islands

The traffic on the outer Cook Islands is not comparable to Rarotonga. Furthermore, people ride way faster on Rarotonga than they do in the outer islands. Therefore, the changes to the safety helmet regulations are only for Rarotonga, not for the outer islands.

Helmets save lives

The new safety helmet law has been in the making since a while and it has many local road safety supporters. However, there are also those in the community who oppose the new regulations.

In the end, the new regulations will save lives. Within a short while, everyone on Rarotonga will be getting accustomed to the new law and always wear a safety helmet when riding on a scooter in Rarotonga.

At Adventure Cook Islands, all our rental scooters come with the riders helmet free of charge. For passenger helmets we only charge a small fee. We use FFM Helmets, New Zealands own helmet brand, made by Kiwis for Kiwis. For more information about our rental scooters, please check out our scooter hire page.