H. B. 2834
(By Delegates Tucker, Yost, Eldridge and Reynolds)
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[Introduced February 5, 2007; referred to the Committee
on Roads and Transportation then the Judiciary .]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-15-44 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to motorcycle operators
and passengers; requiring that motorcycle operators and
passengers under twenty-one years of age wear helmets while
riding; and requiring that any operator licensed less than two
years wear a helmet while riding.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17C-15-44
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. EQUIPMENT.
§17C-15-44. Safety equipment and requirements for motorcyclists,
motorcycles, motor-driven cycles and mopeds;
motorcycle safety standards and education committee.
(a) No person shall under twenty-one years of age may operate
or be a passenger on any motorcycle or motor-driven cycle unless the person is wearing securely fastened on his or her head by
either a neck or chin strap a protective helmet designed to deflect
blows, resist penetration and spread impact forces: Provided, That
an operator twenty-one years of age or older is exempt from the
helmet requirement only after having a valid motorcycle license
under section one, article two, chapter seventeen-b of this code
for two years or a valid license which has been endorsed under
section seven-b of said article for two years. Any helmet worn by
an operator or passenger shall meet the current performance
specifications established by the American National Standards
Institute Standard, Z 90.1, the United States Department of
Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218 or
Snell Safety Standards for Protective Headgear for Vehicle Users.
(b) No person shall may operate or be a passenger on any
motorcycle or motor-driven cycle unless the person is wearing
safety, shatter-resistant eyeglasses (excluding contact lenses), or
eyegoggles or face shield that complies with the performance
specifications established by the American National Standards
Institute for Head, Eye and Respiratory Protection, Z 2.1. In
addition, if any motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or moped is
equipped with a windshield or windscreen, the windshield or
windscreen shall be constructed of safety, shatter-resistant
material that complies with the performance specifications
established by Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 and American National Standards Institute,
Safety Glazing Materials for Glazing Motor Vehicles Operated on
Land Highways, Standard Z 26.1.
(c) No person shall may operate a motorcycle, motor-driven
cycle or moped on which the handlebars or grips are more than
fifteen inches higher than the uppermost part of the operator's
seat when the seat is not depressed in any manner.
(d) A person operating a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or
moped shall ride in a seated position facing forward and only upon
a permanent operator's seat attached to the vehicle. No operator
shall may carry any other person nor shall may any other person
ride on the vehicle unless the vehicle is designed to carry more
than one person, in which event a passenger may ride behind the
operator upon the permanent operator's seat if it is designed for
two persons, or upon another seat firmly attached to the vehicle to
the rear of the operator's seat and equipped with footrests
designed and located for use by the passenger or in a sidecar
firmly attached to the vehicle. No person shall may ride side
saddle on a seat. An operator may carry as many passengers as
there are seats and footrests to accommodate those passengers.
Additional passengers may be carried in a factory produced sidecar
provided that there is one passenger per seat. Passengers riding
in a sidecar shall be restrained by safety belts.
(e) Every motorcycle, motor-driven cycle and moped shall be equipped with a rearview mirror affixed to the handlebars or
fairings and adjusted so that the operator shall have a clear view
of the road and condition of traffic behind him
or her for a
distance of at least two hundred feet.
(f) There is hereby created a six The eight member motorcycle
safety and education committee consisting of: The superintendent
of the State Police or a designee; the Commissioner of Motor
Vehicles or a designee; the director of the West Virginia safety
council or a designee; a licensed motorcycle operator; an owner of
a motorcycle dealership; and a supplier of aftermarket
nonfranchised motorcycle supplies. The nongovernmental
representatives shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice
and consent of the Senate, shall serve without compensation, and
the terms shall be for three years, except that as to the members
first appointed, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one
shall be appointed for a term of two years and one shall be
appointed for a term of three years. Members may be reappointed to
the committee as provided in section eight, article one-d, chapter
seventeen-b of this code.
The committee shall continue to exist pursuant to the
provisions of article ten, chapter four of this code until the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, to allow
for the completion of a preliminary performance review by the Joint
Committee on Government Operations.
The committee is hereby authorized to recommend to the
Superintendent of Public Safety West Virginia State Police types
and makes of protective helmets, eye protection devices and
equipment offered for sale, purchased or used by any person. The
committee is authorized to make recommendations to the Commissioner
of Motor Vehicles regarding the use of the moneys in the motorcycle
safety fund created under section seven, article one-d, chapter
seventeen-b of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove the requirement
that motorcycle operators and passengers 21 years old or older wear
helmets, except that all operators licensed less than two years
would be required to wear helmets. The bill also modifies language
concerning the motorcycle safety and education committee to
correctly reflect it is an eight member board, provided under
§17B-1D-8, rather than a six member board, while making minor
stylistic changes as well.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.