It's the time of year when bicycles, scooters and in-line skates emerge from their winter hibernation. With them, we remind, must emerge helmets.

New York State law requires that bicyclists and in-line skaters 14 years old or younger wear bicycle safety helmets. The parents or guardians of children who break the helmet laws can pay a fine of up to $50. That isn't good enough for Dr. Jerome Davis, Plattsburgh's retired neurosurgeon, who spent so many years trying to repair brains that fell victim to mishaps aboard these vehicles of vulnerability.

In fact, as he sees health warnings all over New York state boasting that the establishments are smoke-free, he is stirred to urge that cyclists be helmet-full.

Since 1989, New York state has had a law requiring helmets for kids under 5 years of age. That law clearly was not sufficient, and in 1994, the age at which the state required a bicyclist to wear a helmet was raised to 14. According to Davis, that still is far short of adequate. He believes every person, at any age, should strap on a helmet before going for a ride on a bicycle, scooter or skates.

For one thing, it sets a terrible example for parents to enforce the helmet law but to shun a helmet themselves. It implies to the child or teen-ager that, while it may be the law, it isn't necessarily such a good idea. It is, and parents will deliver that message forcefully only by complying with it themselves.

(Neurosurgeon Davis also takes issue with what he sees as laxity in enforcement of this law by police. He sees tickets as the best way to bring the law and its importance to people's attention.)

In July of 2002, the bicycle-helmet law was extended to riders of scooters. A parent or guardian of a young person who rides a scooter and who does not wear a helmet can receive a warning for the first violation and a fine of up to $50 for ensuing violations.

Incidentally, bicyclists, in-line skaters and motor vehicle drivers are subject to the same traffic laws. So a motorist must recognize that a bicyclist or in-line skater has the same rights as any motor-vehicle driver, and bicyclists and skaters must obey all traffic signals, signs and pavement markings. Parents are responsible for violations committed by their children under 18.

Bicyclists and skaters have the legal right to share the road on most public highways but They must ride or glide with the traffic. The main cause of accidents is bicyclists or skaters who ride against traffic.

Bicyclists or in-line skaters can travel side-by-side on the road but must ride single-file when other vehicles need to pass.

Davis wonders when the state is going to come to its senses and make helmets mandatory for everybody. In the meantime, he has this advice, compelled by years of dramatic experience: "Save your brain -- wear a helmet."