{"id":33083,"date":"2023-01-25T16:13:42","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T22:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=33083"},"modified":"2023-01-25T16:13:42","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T22:13:42","slug":"bill-would-repeal-helmet-law-for-certain-motorcyclists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=33083","title":{"rendered":"Bill would repeal helmet law for certain motorcyclists"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Transportation and Telecommunications Committee heard testimony Jan. 24 on a bill that would alter Nebraska\u2019s motorcycle helmet mandate.<\/p>\n

\"Sen.
Sen. Ben Hansen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Current state law requires that an individual wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle or moped. LB91, introduced by Blair Sen. Ben Hansen no longer would require an individual age 21 and older who has completed a certified motorcycle safety course to wear a helmet, provided the rider uses protective eye equipment.<\/p>\n

The choice to wear a helmet is an issue of freedom, Hansen said, and individuals who are in favor of LB91 support the right to take responsibility for their own safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is more than a medical or an economic issue; it\u2019s a cultural issue,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are over 83,000 proud motorcyclists residing in Nebraska that have a rich culture and history and want the option to choose for themselves to wear a helmet \u2014 not some rigid state mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Nebraska state senator Dave Bloomfield, who offered similar proposals during his time at the Legislature, spoke in support of LB91, saying thousands of motorcyclists avoid riding through Nebraska due to the state\u2019s helmet law.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The bill] would encourage and increase tourism, increase revenue and positively encourage new business,\u201d Bloomfield said. \u201cMore importantly, LB91 would restore a right that has been denied for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also in support of the bill was motorcyclist Randall Geer. The required safety course would enhance motorcycle safety in Nebraska by assuring that riders have the necessary skills and abilities to prevent crashes, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also believe that increasing motorcycle awareness through \u2026 training riders and non-riders alike to share the road responsibly will do more to save lives and reduce crashes than trying to make it safer to crash by mandating helmets,\u201d Geer said.<\/p>\n

In opposition to the bill was Dr. Daniel Rosenquist, representing the Nebraska Medical Association. Helmets reduce serious injury and lower health care costs, he said, saving taxpayers\u2019 money. In addition, he said, more than 5,500 motorcyclists in the U.S. lost their lives in accidents in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there are inherent risks in riding motorcycles, helmets are the single most effective way to save those lives,\u201d Rosenquist said.<\/p>\n

Also in opposition was Julia Keown, representing the Nebraska Nurses Association. Helmets prevent many catastrophic head injuries, she said, and a requirement to wear protective eye equipment as outlined in the bill would not offer the same level of protection.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Nebraska nurses, we believe that preventive measures like helmets will result in longer and better quality of life and ultimately reduce lifetime health care costs for Nebraskans,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The committee took no immediate action on LB91.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Transportation and Telecommunications Committee heard testimony Jan. 24 on a bill that would alter Nebraska\u2019s motorcycle helmet mandate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22],"tags":[252],"class_list":["post-33083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transportation-and-telecommunications","tag-sen-ben-hansen"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/LB91Hansen1-24-23a.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33083"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33086,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33083\/revisions\/33086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}