Introduced Version
Senate Bill 478 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 478
(By Senators Caldwell and Hunter)
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[Introduced February 6, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Transportation; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-15-44 of the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to safety equipment for
motorcyclists; allowing certain operators of motorcycles and
passengers to ride without helmets; and deleting obsolete
language which created the now-defunct motorcycle safety and
education committee.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17C-15-44
of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. EQUIPMENT.
§17C-15-44. Safety equipment and requirements for motorcyclists,
motorcycles, motor-driven cycles and mopeds;
motorcycle safety standards and education
committee.
(a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, no person 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. 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.
(2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection do
not apply to any operator twenty-one years of age or older who
holds 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.
(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
eyegoggles 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 may carry any other person nor shall may 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 may 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 or
fairings and adjusted so that the operator shall have a clear view
of the road and condition of traffic behind him the operator for a
distance of at least two hundred feet.
(f) There is hereby created a six member motorcycle safety and
education committee consisting of the superintendent of the state
police or a designee; the commissioner of motor vehicles or a
designee; the director of the West Virginia safety council or a
designee; a licensed motorcycle operator; an owner of a motorcycle
dealership; and a supplier of aftermarket nonfranchised motorcycle
supplies. The nongovernmental representatives shall be appointed
by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall
serve without compensation, and the terms shall be for three years,
except that as to the members first appointed, one shall be
appointed for a term of one year, one shall be appointed for a term
of two years and one shall be appointed for a term of three years.
Members may be reappointed to the committee.
The committee shall continue to exist pursuant to the
provisions of article ten, chapter four of this code until the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, to allow
for the completion of a preliminary performance review by the joint committee on government operations.
The committee is hereby authorized to recommend to the
superintendent of public safety the state police types and makes of
protective helmets, eye protection devices and equipment offered
for sale, purchased or used by any person. The committee is
authorized to make recommendations to the commissioner of motor
vehicles regarding the use of the moneys in the motorcycle safety
fund created under section seven, article one-d, chapter
seventeen-b of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow operators of
motorcycles who are at least 21 years old to drive motorcycles
without wearing helmets. The bill also deletes obsolete language
related to the now defunct motorcycle safety and education
committee.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.