- Supporters argue the bill will enhance rider safety and reduce fatalities and traumatic brain injuries.
- Opponents, including A.B.A.T.E. of PA, contend the bill infringes on personal freedom and advocate for rider training and education instead.
- Current Pennsylvania law requires helmets for riders under 21 or those lacking two years of experience or a safety course.
A Berks County state representative is proposing legislation that would require all motorcycle riders to wear protective headgear, regardless of age or experience, 22 years after Pennsylvania lawmakers lifted the state’s previous ban.
Democratic Rep. Manuel Guzman’s House Bill 1809, the Universal Motorcycle Helmet Safety Act, is reigniting a debate over how to balance safety with personal liberty.
What it does
Currently in Pennsylvania, you’re required to wear a helmet while riding or driving a motorcycle unless you are 21 or older, have a minimum of two years of riding experience or have completed a motorcycle safety course. Guzman’s bill would repeal those exemptions in order to afford “all Pennsylvanians … equal protection on the road — not just riders under 21,” according to a July 21 cosponsorship memo.
“Motorcycle crashes remain a significant source of preventable death and injury in the commonwealth,” Guzman said in the memo. “Traumatic brain injuries, in particular, are among the leading causes of fatality and long-term disability among unhelmeted riders. While Pennsylvania law currently mandates helmet use for riders under 21 or those without at least two years of experience or a safety course, data continues to show that partial helmet laws do not provide sufficient protection to the riding public.”
‘Freedom of choice’
However, the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education of Pennsylvania, or A.B.A.T.E. PA, was quick to respond to Guzman’s legislation. Saying its members stand firmly in opposition to eliminating current exemptions, A.B.A.T.E. said it would “(strip) away the freedom of choice that riders fought for and won back in 2003.
A.B.A.T.E. is a grassroots nonprofit that works to protect and promote motorcyclists’ rights, including the 2003 helmet law change.
“Pennsylvania motorcyclists fought hard for the freedom of choice we won back in 2003, and wewill not sit back quietly while that right is threatened again,” the group said in a statement Thursday. “We are not anti-helmet. We are pro-choice. Helmets should be a decision made by the rider — not by politicians.
“Rep. Guzman claims a universal helmet law would reduce traumatic brain injuries and fatalities,” the statement continued. “A.B.A.T.E. counters that the real solution lies in rider training, education, awareness and crash prevention — not mandates.”
Are motorcycle helmets effective?
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data show that motorcyclists accounted for 14% of all traffic fatalities in 2019, despite motorcycles making up only 3% of all registered vehicles and traveling just 0.6% of all vehicle miles traveled. Department of Transportation-certified helmets, according to government studies, help reduce fatalities by 37% for motorcycle operators and by 41% for passengers.
As Guzman noted, 19 states, including California, New York, Maryland, Oregon, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia, have universal helmet laws.
H.B. 1809 has nine cosponsors, all Democrats.
The proposed legislation would not apply to operators of fully enclosed three-wheeled motorcycles or autocycles.
Matthew Rink is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania investigative journalist.
