Bikers who want to ride with the wind in their hair made progress in the General Assembly today when a House committee approved a bill to peel back North Carolina’s motorcycle safety helmet requirement for some riders, on some roads.
Motorcyclists would be free to go bare-headed if they’re 21 or older and riding where the speed limit is 45 mph or slower, under a bill that passed on a 9-7 vote in the House Transportation Committee.
The helmet law got tougher in 2008 with a requirement that bikers wear helmets good enough to meet federal safety standards.
An official with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program offered evidence that better helmets are saving more lives: Motorcycle crashes grew in number last year, but motorcycle deaths decreased from 192 in 2007 to 142 in 2008.
And most of those deaths involved adult bikers. Only 13 fatalities involved motorcycle riders younger than 21.
Charles Boone, a spokesman for Concerned Bikers of America, told the committee that helmets become less effective as speeds rise higher than 15 mph.
The original bill contained only the age change. Rep. Cary Allred, an Alamance County Republican, added an amendment that would make helmets optional for over-21 bikers only when they are cruising in parades on roads with speed limits no higher than 45 mph.
Rep. Grier Martin, a Wake County Democrat, said Allred and Boone seemed to be at cross purposes.
“If helmets are most effective at lower speeds, that would seem to undercut the logic of this amendment” to require them only at high speeds, Martin said.
“I wish you hadn’t said that,” Allred replied.
Nonetheless, his amendment and the amended bill were approved in 9-7 votes.
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter and editor since 1976, he took over the 
Comments
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They shuld take care of
Tue, 07/28/2009 - 02:43 — makemineThey shuld take care of their health and safety
medical health
old timer
Wed, 05/13/2009 - 12:19 — baldezarBruce, I see you were around in the '70s for the "Let those who ride decide" ride from the fairgrounds to the legislature building. I rode my Harley in that one.
Following the way of most, younger to older, I have become more conservative in many things. While choosing whether to wear a helmet seems like a nice and logical idea, the thing I now think about is the cost to society in "unpaid" medical bills when anyone dumb enough to ride without a helmet has a serious accident and injury.
Perhaps along with the motorcycle certification required on NC licenses they could add one indicating that the rider accepts no medical treatment without adequate medical insurance.
And of course, checking that option automatically checks the organ donor designation on the license.