Margaret River police are cracking down on cyclists’ lax helmet use in a bid to improve public safety.

Senior Constable Simon Bickers told the Times officers noticed a rise in people riding without helmets, which could attract a $50 fine.

“It’s obviously down to safety, concentrating particularly on cyclists on roads without helmets, ” he said. “It’s designed to protect members of the public.”

Snr Const. Bickers said although safety was the number one priority, there were other reasons for the crackdown

“There’s also a bit of a spin-off effect where breaking minor road rules can lead to breaking bigger road rules and we want to stop this happening, ” he said.