Senate Bill No. 304

(By Senators Bailey and Bowman)

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[Introduced March 12, 1997; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section forty-four, article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to motorcycle operators and passengers; requiring certain persons under the age of eighteen or who have been licensed less than two years to wear a helmet; helmet standards; requiring the use of eye protection and setting standards therefor; equipment standards; carrying of passengers; and approval of equipment.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section forty-four, article fifteen, chapter seventeen- c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty- one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. EQUIPMENT.
ยง17C-15-44. Safety equipment and requirements for motorcyclists, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles and mopeds; motorcycle safety standards and specifications board.

(a) No person under eighteen years of age shall 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 no person who has not had a valid motorcycle license under section one, article two, chapter seventeen-b of this code or a valid license which has been endorsed under section seven-b, article two, chapter seventeen-b of this code may operate any motorcycle or motor-driven cycle 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 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 eye goggles 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 be 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 carry any other person nor shall 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 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 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) The superintendent of public safety is hereby authorized to approve or disapprove types and makes of protective helmets, eye protection devices and equipment offered for sale, purchased or used by any person.


NOTE: This bill would remove the requirement that adult motorcycle operators and passengers and operators licensed for less than two years wear helmets.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.