Missouri Senate repeals mandatory motorcycle helmet law
The Associated Press is reporting that the Missouri Senate yesterday approved the removal of the existing motorcycle rider helmet law. I don't ride a motorcycle, but do ride a bicycle as as my primary hobby. The big groups of bicyclists that I routinely ride with are pretty good about policing themselves about helmet usage, but it is a personal choice. As a kid, I rode my bicycle all around Southwest Missouri, and never had a helmet, but that was the late 70's and 80's. (in fact I remember asking my mom for a cool euro style bicycle helmet, which would have provided next to no protection by today's standards, but would have looked cool. My mom said no.) but now I never chance it without a helmet. I hope most people still choose to ride with proper helmets.
The new bill also provided that insurers can not claim that riding a motorcycle provides an element of comparative fault. However, not wearing a helmet does not explicitly receive such status, but the new statute does provide "no insurer, agent, producer, or claims adjuster of an insurer shall assign a percentage of fault to a party based upon the sole fact that the party was operating a motorcycle in an otherwise legal manner "
I can assure you that the insurance companies will try to use an injured persons non use of the helmet against them.
From the AP:
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 on 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.
Here are the UNOFFICIAL Bills are as follows:
Revised Missouri Statute 302.020
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 2 of this section, any person who is twenty-one years of age or older may operate or ride as a passenger on any motorcycle or motortricycle without protective headgear upon any highway of this state, except for an interstate highway. Any person twenty-one years of age or older operating or riding as a passenger on any motorcycle or motortricycle without protective headgear upon an interstate highway shall be guilty of an infraction for which a fine not to exceed twenty-five dollars may be imposed. The protective headgear exemption provided by this subsection shall expire on August 28, 2014.
537.055.
1. In any action to recover damages arising out of the ownership, common maintenance, or operation of a motor vehicle, the fact that one of the parties was operating a motorcycle shall not, in and of itself, be considered evidence of comparative negligence.
2. When investigating an accident or settling an automobile insurance policy claim, no insurer, agent, producer, or claims adjuster of an insurer shall assign a percentage of fault to a party based upon the sole fact that the party was operating a motorcycle in an otherwise legal manner. As used in this subsection,the term "insurer" shall mean any insurance company, association or exchange authorized to issue policies of automobile insurance in the state of Missouri. The term
"automobile insurance policy" shall mean a policy providing automobile liability coverage, uninsured motorists coverage, automobile medical payments coverage or automobile physical damage coverage insuring a private passenger automobile owned by an individual or partnership.
