Nebraska’s motorcycle helmet law repealed

    For 34 years, helmets have been required on motorcycle riders in Nebraska.
    However, at the start of 2024 helmets will no longer be required while riding motorcycles on Nebraska roads.
    The Nebraska Legislature passed Legislative Bill 138 on a 41-0 vote May 31 sending it to Gov. Jim Pillen’s desk for his signature, which he did sign the next day.
    The repeal of the state’s motorcycle helmet mandate was attached to LB 138 as an amendment.
    The helmet amendment allows any motorcyclist or passenger 21 and older who has completed a basic certification course by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to ride without a helmet, starting on Jan. 1, 2024.
    Riders under 21 will still be required to wear helmets.
    Riders from other states could also ride without a helmet in Nebraska if they have taken an equivalent course and carry proof of completion. The bill requires riders and passengers to wear protective glasses or have a windshield on their bikes.
    The amendment makes helmet law violations secondary offenses, meaning that law enforcement could only ticket riders for violations if they are stopped for some other traffic offense.
    A repeal of Nebraska’s motorcycle helmet law has been attempted for years without success.
    Members of American Bikers Aiming Toward Education of Nebraska, or ABATE, have been active in working to repeal the law.
    Brad Dinnel of Enders, ABATE representative for District 12 which covers southwest Nebraska, said it’s been a long time coming.
    “It’s what we’ve been fighting for. It’s been a long fight,” he said.
    He believes the issue comes down to freedom of choice, noting that riders 21 and older can continue to wear a helmet if they want. He believes there will still be a high percentage of riders who will continue to wear helmets by their choice.
    He provided an official ABATE statement on the issue: “ABATE of Nebraska, Inc., does not advocate that you ride without a helmet, but we feel that as a responsible adult, you should have the right to decide whether or not to wear one.”
    Dinnel noted the original Nebraska bill was voted out of committee this year.
    It was piggy-backed on LB 138 late in the session after days of filibustering that stalled action on many bills.
    All four senators who represent the 11 counties in Dinnel’s ABATE district were co-signers of the bill, he said.
    His district includes Chase, Perkins, Dundy, Hitchcock, Hayes, Red Willow, Furnas, Gosper, Frontier, Keith and Lincoln counties
    He was part of the ABATE group in Lincoln in January for Legislative Day and met with senators on the measure.
    “The number of senators [who favored repeal] were looking better than ever then,” he said.
    Until this session’s repeal, Nebraska stood alone among a multitude of Midwest states that have no helmet law or have age restrictions.
    He added the state loses a lot of tourism dollars from those riders who choose to bypass Nebraska to get to other places.
    The head of ABATE, Todd Miller, told a World-Herald reporter adults deserve the choice to ride a motorcycle with or without a helmet, and said removing the requirement improves the experience of motorcycle riding for many.
    The bill would add Nebraska to the list of states that have eliminated or relaxed laws requiring anyone riding a motorcycle to wear a helmet.
    The Nebraska law has been in place since 1989.
    State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair proposed the repeal initially through a separate bill, but later turned it into an amendment to LB 138. He said people should be free to decide if they want to take the risk of riding without a helmet.
    While the helmet repeal was not debated in the final round, according to a World-Herald story, it drew some opposition from lawmakers in previous rounds of debate.
    Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus, for example, had noted previously that the government tells people what to do in many situations, including wearing seat belts, putting children in car seats and obeying speed limits. But Moser  voted in favor of the bill May 31.
    Excerpts from a June 1 Omaha World-Herald article by Erin Bamer were used in this story.