W VA Considers Repealing Helmet Law

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  Posted by BikerNews March 28, 2017 - Filed in Motorcycle News - 1,114 views
  

  Motorcycle Helmet Requirement Under Reconsideration at W.Va. Capitol

   

  Update March 30, 2017

   

  CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia’s Senate has voted against repealing the requirement that motorcyclists wear helmets.

   

  The bill, advanced by two committees, was voted down 19 to 15 after several senators cited data showing more and worse head injuries for riders who crash without helmets.

   

  It would allow riders over 21 to decide about helmets. It was amended to apply only to those who had a motorcycle license at least five years or passed a safety program and at have least $15,000 of medical insurance.

   

  Sen. Mike Woelfel, a Huntington Democrat, says the bill is “otherwise known as the organ donor act of 2017.”

   

  Sen. Patricia Rucker, a Harpers Ferry Republican, says lawmakers should allow people to live their lives and the no-helmet bill is pro-tourism.

  

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  Original Story posted 3/28/2017

   

  CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Lawmakers are nearing a vote, some say, is a matter of life and death on the roadways.

   

  West Virginia law currently requires that motorcyclists wear protective helmets at all times on the road.

   

  But Wednesday, senators will vote on whether or not to change that rule.

   

  Sen. Mark R. Maynard (R-Wayne, 06) introduced the bill. He says he's a helmet advocate; personally wearing headgear whenever he rides dirt bikes.

   

  However, Maynard says, other bikers should be able to make their own decisions regarding headgear, especially when traveling short distances.

   

  "I think that we all know that it is very dangerous if you would drive at highway speeds with no helmet," Maynard said. "But I think that we are capable of making that decision for ourselves."

   

  The new rules would not restrict where helmetless bikers can drive.

   

  But the new law still maintains certain requirements bikers must heed to ride without headgear: drivers must be at least 21-years old, with at least five years of experience on a bike and must undergo a $15,000 hike in motorcycle insurance.

   

  Meanwhile, opponents say, the extra coverage costs are proof positive that the change is a dangerous one.

   

  Sen. Ron Stollings (D-Boone, 07) and Sen. Dr. Tom Takubo (R-Kanawha, 17), both members of the Senate Health Committee, both with personal experience in the medical field and both on opposite party lines, agree that a decrease in helmet usage will result in an increase in fatal accidents for bikers.

   

  "This bill will kill people," Stollings said. "All of the states that have repealed or allowed people to not wear motorcycle helmets have a tremendous increase in the number of motorcycle deaths."

   

  "The range is anywhere between 60 percent and 460 percent increase in death," Takubo said. "This is seen almost immediately as soon as the helmet laws are repealed."

   

  "I'm hoping the senators will really think about what they're doing," Takubo said. "At some point in their lives, if this vote were to pass, it may not be immediate, but some time in their lives they're gonna have somebody directly hurt by this and they're going to think back to this decision."

   

  Opponents also believe a bump in medical emergencies, they say will result from this change, would mean a bump in healthcare costs for everyone.

   

  If the bill is passed Wednesday it will head to the House of Delegates for consideration.

   

   

  source: WSAZ News Channel 3