A proposal to allow motorcyclists to go helmet-free in Nebraska crashed amid insurance worries on Feb. 3, but may recover while state lawmakers are still in session.
After a proposal that all motorcyclists need to carry more insurance turned out to be unworkable, the Nebraska Legislature voted to postpone consideration of the bill that would repeal the state’s 20-year-old helmet requirement.
It could come back later this month after supporters try to refine, or ditch, the insurance-related measures.
Some legislators described the proposals that scuttled the bill as sloppy, with one scolding fellow lawmakers for not doing their homework.
“We have not vetted this bill, we have not done the proper research,” said Sen. Dave Pankonin of Lousiville.
It’s not a new issue. Similar helmet-law repeals have been introduced nearly every year for two decades.
Sen. Charlie Janssen, who introduced the bill, conceded that the measure was flawed. The second-year senator from Fremont said a fellow senator who had been in the insurance business for 30 years told him a type of insurance that an amendment to the bill would have required may not even be available.
“That’s certainly cause for concern,” Janssen said.
An amendment that was approved Feb. 2, then nixed the next day after lawmakers concluded it lacked specifics and could cost riders thousands of dollars a year, would have required everyone who registers a motorcycle to have insurance for long-term care should they sustain debilitating injuries.
Another amendment central to Janssen’s bill and also designed to attract support for repealing the helmet law would have required yet more insurance – at least $1 million worth of coverage for injuries.
Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, an attorney who has experience working with injury cases, said insurance officials told him they didn’t even offer medical coverage on motorcycle policies.
“We’re going to ask motorcyclists to go out and get something they can’t find,” Lathrop said.
Many lawmakers appear supportive of other elements of the bill, including a requirement that only riders at least 21 years old be able to go helmet-free. The bill would also require riders to wear eye protection, and for lawmakers to revisit the decision to repeal the helmet law in five years.
If passed, Nebraska would become the seventh state since 1997 to repeal a mandatory helmet law.
Nebraska Legislature: www.nebraskalegislature.gov
Topics Auto Legislation
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