HOUSE BILL REPORT

EHB 161

BYRepresentatives Fisher, Winsley, Walk, Ebersole, Jacobsen, Belcher, Holm, Valle, Cole, Brekke, Leonard, Rasmussen, Bumgarner, Ferguson, May, Grimm and Wang

Requiring motorcycle helmets.

House Committe on Transportation

Majority Report:     Do pass with amendments.  (17)

     Signed by Representatives Walk, Chair; Baugher, Vice Chair; Cantwell, Cooper, Day, Dellwo, Doty, Fisch, Fisher, Gallagher, Meyers, D. Sommers, Spanel, Sutherland, Todd, K. Wilson and Zellinsky.

Minority Report:     Do not pass.  (8)

     Signed by Representatives Betrozoff, Brough, Hankins, Heavey, Kremen, Patrick, Schmidt and C. Smith.

House Staff:Mary McLaughlin (786-7309)

AS PASSED HOUSE MARCH 10, 1987

BACKGROUND:

Washington's mandatory helmet law was enacted in 1967 and repealed in 1977.  Since that time there has been considerable support in the medical community for re-institution of the helmet requirement, particularly since the recent enactment of the mandatory child restraint and seat belt laws. It is generally accepted that impact-tested helmets reduce the risk of injury in a majority of cases.

According to Traffic Safety Commission's 1985 Traffic Collisions report, motorcycle fatal collisions decreased 7.1 percent, when compared to the previous 4- year (1981-84) baseline average.  Total reported collisions, however, increased 6.5 percent and injury collisions increased 5.9 percent over the baseline average.  Motorcycle registrations decreased 4.8 percent in 1985.  The 1985 collision rate for every 100 vehicles registered was up 11.9 percent (2.95) when compared to the baseline rate of 2.64 collisions for every 100 motorcycles registered.

Eight states, including Washington, have no mandatory helmet requirement. Nineteen states require all riders to wear helmets; twenty-three states have a minimum age requirement (usually under the age of eighteen).  The only western state that requires all riders to wear a helmet is Nevada.  California has a mandatory helmet law for riders under 15-1/2 years of age.

SUMMARY:

Washington's mandatory use of motorcycle helmets is reinstituted for motorcycle operators and passengers.  Helmets are required only when the motorcycle is operated upon a state highway, county road or city street.  The wearing of a helmet is not mandatory when the vehicle is operated on a off-road facility (private property, ORV trail, etc.).

It is illegal to transport a child under the age of five on a motorcycle. (An attorney general's opinion concluded that transportation of a child under the age of five on a motorcycle is prohibited under the child restraint law because a motorcycle cannot be equipped with a child restraint or seat belt system. The law states that all children less than five years of age must be in a child restraint or seat belt system when being transported by the parent or legal guardian in his/her own vehicle.)

The helmet must be of a type approved by the Commission on Equipment and be equipped with a neck or chin strap that is fastened when the cycle is in motion.  A person renting a motorcycle must have an approved helmet in his or her possession, regardless from whom the helmet was obtained.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S):  Helmets are only required for children under the age of 12.

The initial motorcycle endorsement, new category and renewal fees are each increased by $2 and are deposited in the Motorcycle Safety Education Account.

The five-member Motorcycle Safety Education Advisory Committee is renamed a board.  Three members are representatives of nonprofit motorcycle organizations, one member is a Washington State Patrol motorcycle officer, one is a member of the public.  Members are appointed by the director of the Department of Licensing (DOL) to two-year terms.  The board is to develop a voluntary motorcycle education program based on specific priorities (public awareness, safety education, classroom and on-cycle training, and operator testing).  The board is to submit a proposed education training program to the director and the Legislative Transportation Committee (LTC) by January 1, 1988.  The director will administer the board's program in absence of LTC approval.

Fiscal Note:    Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:     Representative Fisher; Representative Winsley; Captain Rick Jensen, Washington State Patrol; Chuck Hayes, Washington State Traffic Safety Commission; Wally Walsh, Washington State Head Injury Association; Dr. Robert Lang, Washington State Medical Association; Dr. Abraham Bergman, Harborview Injury Prevention Center; Dr. Gregory Luna, Harborview Medical Center; Dr. Mike Copess, Harborview Medical Center; Steve Maag, Washington Health Care Association; Susan Budassi Sheehy, Washington State Emergency Nurses Association and Pierce County Paramedic Association; Steven MacDonald, Washington State Public Health Association.

House Committee - Testified Against: Mike Kratcha, A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments (ABATE); Dana Fehrenbach, ABATE; Ken Youngblood, ABATE; Lawrence Feeley, American Motorcycle Association; Wayne Leffler, ABATE; Craig Skinner, ABATE; Jerry Westfall, ABATE; Rod Petroff, ABATE; Gypsy, ABATE.

House Committee - Testimony For:     The goal is to reduce health care costs related to head injuries.  The health care cost is $28,000 to $120,000 for each year a head injury victim survives after only 24 hours in a coma.  Statewide health care costs to the taxpayers is approximately $5 million per year; this amount could be reduced by $1.5 to $2 million if the mandatory helmet law were re-enacted.  In states that have repealed mandatory helmet usage, fatalities have increased an average of 40 percent and public health care costs have increased 200 percent.  The wearing of a helmet can significantly reduce head injuries in accidents involving speeds of 30-40 miles per hour.  The possibility of head injury is twice as great for those not wearing a helmet.  There is no sound evidence that the potential of a neck injury increases when wearing a helmet.  Hearing and visibility are not impaired when wearing a properly-designed helmet. Compliance with the former mandatory helmet law ran 81 to 90 percent.

House Committee - Testimony Against: Helmets are good only in collisions involving speeds up to eight to ten miles per hour.  Neck injuries will increase with mandatory helmet usage. Education is a more viable alternative.  Helmet laws are made for profit, not protection.  Inflation is responsible for the dramatic increase in health care costs.  Those who ride should decide.  Education is needed for the general motoring public to make it more aware of motorcyclists. Visibility and hearing are impaired when wearing a helmet.

VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:

     Yeas 69; Nays 28; Excused 1

Voting Nay:     Representatives Amondson, Betrozoff, Brough, Chandler, Fuhrman, Grant, Hankins, Hargrove, Heavey, Holland, Jesernig, P. King, Kremen, Lewis, Madsen, McLean, Padden, Patrick, Prince, Pruitt, Sanders, Schmidt, C. Smith, L. Smith, Vekich, B. Williams, J. Williams and S. Wilson

Excused:   Representative Doty