OR: Bill would relax motorcycle helmet law

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2/14/2011 6:50:56 AM
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OR: Bill would relax motorcycle helmet law

 

http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_23dca85c-373c-11e0-b007-001cc4c03286.html

Bill would relax motorcycle helmet law

Bill would relax motorcycle helmet law By Hasso Hering, Albany Democrat-Herald gazettetimes.com | Posted: Saturday, February 12, 2011 10:38 pm

Twenty legislators have signed on to a bill that would allow Oregon motorcycle riders and passengers to ride without helmets if they’re 21 or older.

Sponsored by Rep. Andy Olson, R-Albany, House Bill 3141 would amend the motorcycle helmet law to say that only persons under 21 have to wear one.

Olson said last week the change would allow motorcycle riders to hear better and see more. Some have told him that helmets — especially the full-face kind — hamper both their vision and hearing.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, however, said in March 2010 that “helmets are the principal countermeasure for reducing crash-related head injuries, the leading cause of death among unhelmeted riders.”

In Albany, Mel Yeager, secretary-treasurer of BikePAC of Oregon, said a lot of people will continue to ride with a helmet even if the law is changed.

“They, however, support wholeheartedly the right to choose for those who want to ride without a helmet,” he said.

A lot of study went into the bill, according to Yeager, and “basically, the bill has the support of all motorcyclists” with whom his group has contact.

Olson said he expects it to go to the House panel on transportation and come up for a hearing in a week or so.

Among the cosponsors are Reps. Sherrie Sprenger of Scio and Jim Thompson of Dallas, as well as Sens. Frank Morse of Albany and Fred Girod of Stayton, Republicans all.

Two Democrats have signed on to the bill: Reps. Jules Bailey of Portland and Brian Clem of Salem.

Oregon is one of 20 states that require helmets for all motorcycle riders regardless of age.

Only Colorado, Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire have no motorcycle helmet requirement at all. Most of the rest require helmets only for riders and passengers under 18 or 21 years of age.

Twenty-nine states that used to have universal helmet laws like Oregon’s have repealed or changed them since the 1970s to apply only to younger riders, according to a table published online by the Governors Highway Safety Association. 

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