WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2017 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 2135
By Delegates Kelly, Cooper, McGeehan and Sobonya
[Introduced February 8,2017; Referred
to the Committee on Roads and Transportation then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-15-44 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to permitting persons who are twenty-one years of age or older to operate or be a passenger on a motorcycle without a helmet if they have held a license valid for the operation of a motorcycle for a minimum of two years.
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) No person shall under
the age of twenty-one 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.
(b) Persons aged twenty-one years and older may operate or be a passenger on a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle without a helmet if they have held a license valid for the operation of a motorcycle for a minimum of two years.
(b) (c) No person shall 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 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) (d) No person shall 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) (e) 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 carry any other person nor shall 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 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) (f) 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 or her for a distance of at least
two hundred feet.
(f) (g) 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 July 1, 1999, 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 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 permit persons who are twenty-one years of age or older to operate or be a passenger on a motorcycle without a helmet if they have held a license valid for the operation of a motorcycle for a minimum of two years.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.