Senate Bill No. 514
(By Senator Humphreys)
____________
[Introduced March 22, 1993; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
____________
A BILL to amend article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
forty-four-a, relating to requiring people who operate or
ride on all-terrain vehicles, bicycles, skateboards or
rollerskates to wear protective helmets; and providing a
penalty for failing to wear a helmet.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
forty-four-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. EQUIPMENT.
§17C-15-44a. Safety equipment and requirements for persons who
operate or ride all-terrain vehicles, bicycles, skateboards
and rollerskates.
(a) No person may operate, ride or be a passenger on anyall-terrain vehicle, bicycle, skateboard or rollerskate device
unless he or she 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. Any
helmet worn by an operator or passenger shall meet the current
performance specifications established by the American national
standards institute for the type of headgear recommended for each
mode of transportation or the current performance specifications
of a similar safety organization.
The superintendent of public safety is hereby authorized to
approve or disapprove types and makes of protective helmets
offered for sale, purchased or used by any person.
Any person who violates the provisions of his section is
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined twenty-five dollars.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require operators,
riders and passengers of all-terrain vehicles, bicycles,
skateboards and rollerskates to wear an approved protective
helmet. The bill also provides a twenty-five dollar fine for
failure to wear the proper helmet.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.