Motorcyclists who are at least 21 years old could ride without helmets under a House bill (HB 1393) given initial approval Tuesday.
For decades, state law has required all motorcycle riders to wear helmets. But for years, some lawmakers have tried to repeal that because they say mandating helmets infringes on civil liberties and is an attempt by state government to protect people from themselves.
“We could save more motorcyclists by requiring them to do 20 minutes of exercise per day than by requiring them to wear helmets,” said Rep. Scott Muschany, R-St. Louis.
The bill endorsed Tuesday by the House would make helmets optional for those who are at least 21. It needs another vote before moving to the Senate, where in past years the legislation has run into bipartisan opposition.
The proposed helmet repeal is again sponsored by Rep. Gary Dusenberg, a former trooper for the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
“It’s time for Missourians to have the freedom to decide as adults whether they want to wear a helmet or not,” said Dusenberg, R-Blue Springs. “The state of Missouri shouldn’t be making that decision for adults.”
The Springfield News-Leader analyzed federal traffic data from 2002-2006 and found that Missouri was among the most dangerous states in which to ride a motorcycle. There were 390 deaths in the four-year span, of which 58 percent came in rural areas and only 44 percent of them involved another vehicle.
The newspaper’s analysis also found 18 percent of killed drivers were not wearing a helmet and an additional 3 percent died when they weren’t wearing their helmets correctly.
Republican Rep. Rob Schaaf, a physician from St. Joseph, said he has seen some of those serious head injuries and the effect it has had on the victims. Among the staunchest critics of repealing the helmet law, Schaaf warned that repealing the helmet requirement would lead to more deaths.
“Is there something magical about being 21 years old that gives you the right to do something that frankly isn’t very smart?” he asked.
Missouri is one of 20 states that have universal helmet requirements; 26 states require helmets only of younger riders, and four states have no helmet requirement for any motorcyclists, according to the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The university said public affairs professor Lilliard Richardson recently teamed up with faculty from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to analyze the effect of helmet law changes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 1975 through 2004. In states that repealed universal helmet requirements, the motorcycle fatality rate increased an average of 12.2 percent, the University of Missouri said.
In states with universal helmet mandates, the motorcycle fatality rate was 11.1 percent lower than in states with no helmet mandates, the university said.
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