Missouri Senate votes to repeal mandatory motorcycle helmet law

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Senate voted Thursday to allow people at least 21 years old to ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet as long as they're not traveling on an interstate highway.

Some motorcycle enthusiasts contend that riding without a helmet is more fun and that the state shouldn't micromanage their lives.

"At some point in our society, you have to allow people who are 21 to make a conscious decision and weigh the risks of their own decisions," said Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, who has a motorcycle license but no longer owns a bike.

Missouri has required riders to wear helmets for decades, but some lawmakers have been trying to overturn that law, arguing that it infringes on civil liberties.

Supporters of the current helmet requirements argue the state should keep people safe during a potentially dangerous activity.

If helmets aren't required, "the state fails to protect those riders from brain injuries and ultimately even death," said Sen. Yvonne Wilson, D-Kansas City. Her son was killed in a motorcycle accident 10 years ago Sunday.

"Of course the scars are still there," she said. "I feel I have to get past my own feelings and get concerned about those vulnerable motorcycle riders."

The motorcycle helmet provisions were added to a broader insurance bill, which passed 23-6. Under the bill, the helmet exemption would expire in five years. The measure now moves to the House, which has passed similar bills in past years.

About half the states are like Missouri in requiring all motorcycle riders to wear helmets. A few don't require anyone to wear a helmet, and the rest require them for younger riders.

Wilson said the National Highway Safety Association estimates that motorcycle helmets saved 1,784 lives across the country in 2007.

A study completed by researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville found motorcycle death rates increased by an average of 12.2 percent in states that repealed universal helmet requirements. The study analyzed the effect of helmet law changes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 1975 through 2004.

The insurance portions of the Senate legislation would prohibit insurance companies from assigning fault to someone in an accident based only on the fact that the person was riding a motorcycle.

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Motorcycle helmets is SB202

On the Net:

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov