Helmet Law Repeal Currently on Missouri Governor’s Desk

By John Coyle - May 29, 2020

Repealing the helmet law isn’t a done deal, as a similar proposal was recently rejected. But is it the law putting safety on the line, or is it intruding on rider’s rights?

If you’re looking to ride without a helmet in Missouri, you might soon be in luck. There is currently a repeal of the state’s helmet law repeal currently sitting on Governor Mike Parson’s desk. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, this is the second time legislators in the “Show Me” state have tried to change the law in just the past couple of years.

In 2019, advocates for helmet-free riding got close to a repeal, but the legislation stalled at the Governor’s desk. This time, a spokeswoman for the Governor has indicated Parson might sign the bill, though the differences between the two–or at least the elements we’re concerned with–are bureaucratic. As St. Louis Public Radio pointed out last July, the reason the last effort failed wasn’t due to opposition from medical and insurance professionals, but rather some of the other elements included in the bill.

“The law would have allowed qualified motorcyclists 18 and older with proper health-insurance coverage to ride without a helmet,” they write. “But the provision got tied into a larger, omnibus transportation bill covering everything from left turns onto one-way streets at red lights to motor-vehicle rental fees.” In other words, the law was bloated with additional components that detracted from the main issue.

The current legislation ups the minimum age to 26, and requires that all riders who want to feel the wind in their hair have health insurance to cover the cost of potential injuries. Importantly, it also forbids officers from pulling over riders to check their age and insurance situation. So enforcement of the law will be tricky, to put it mildly. But like the last bill, it does contains other transportation-related provisions, like funding for a hyperloop testing facility, which could ultimately doom it.

From what we’ve seen nationally, trends seem to be skewing away from helmet laws, as efforts to enact them in Connecticut and Indiana have recently come up short. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that Missouri is one of 19 states (plus the District of Columbia) that require all riders to wear helmets.

Regardless of which way the winds are blowing, however, we think wearing a helmet is always a great idea, no matter where you live. That said, helmet laws and whether it is required to wear a helmet have historically been contentious topics here on on the forum, and you don’t have to look far to find a discussion.

On this thread from earlier in the month, AbqDave starts with a reminder that accidents happen close to home, so the idea that only donning a helmet for long trips doesn’t make a lot of sense. Now, while he initially says he didn’t want to seem like he’s nagging folks to wear helmets, later in the thread, he admits he’s guilty of exactly that. But he still manages to find some support from fellow member brudford, who prefaces his comment by saying he’s been a registered nurse for three decades, and makes some good points.

“Several things I learned about helmets , majority of head injuries were actual facial injuries, I think about 19-23 % lower part of your face. There is a diagram somewhere that gives you the most likely in percentages where your head will have injuries. For me I wear a full face helmet so I do not disfigure my face as it is sliding down the pavement.”

We’re too vain to worry about half our faces getting sanded off in a crash, so a full-face helmet is a natural choice for when we throw a leg over the bike. And while folks are always going to make their own choices, it’s worth noting this comment from rjg883c, on a thread that dates back to 2010, and is still getting comments.

“I haven’t read every post in this thread but I haven’t seen the post in which anyone indicates interest/concern in what anybody else wears. What I have seen is riders sharing their choices/preferences.”

For the record, there’s over 60 pages of comments there, which seems to indicate that Harley folks aren’t a particularly judgmental bunch when it comes to personal choices.

As always, we’ll keep you posted on changing helmet laws around the country. But regardless of what you choose to wear or not wear, remember to keep it shiny side up!

Photos: Oleg Magni from Pexels, Harley-Davidson