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Mo. House Votes To Repeal Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Law

Marshall Griffin/St. Louis Public Radio

The Missouri House has passed legislation that would allow motorcyclists to ride without wearing helmets.

House Bill 555 would lift the mandatory helmet requirement for motorcycle drivers and passenger who are at least 21 years of age or older.  It would remain in effect for those under 21.  The sponsor, State Representative Eric Burlison (R, Springfield), says the data he’s seen indicates that most motorcycle deaths are from torso injuries, not head trauma.

"At the end of the day, being on a motorcycle is an unsafe activity," Burlison said.  "But, until we decide that we’re not gonna let people be on motorcycles, I think it’s folly to assume that a helmet changes anything when the data does not indicate otherwise."

State Representative Warren Love (R, Osceola) is a motorcyclist and also backs the bill.  He says Missouri's mandatory helmet law is causing many cross-country motorcyclists to avoid traveling through the Show-Me State.

"We're surrounded by states that (do) not have a helmet law," Love said.  "If there's people out riding...they're gonna go down through Arkansas and journey around (us), and they're gonna bypass Missouri -- we're losing thousands and thousands of dollars because people aren't coming to Missouri because of our helmet law."

Fellow Republican Keith Frederick of Rolla, however, argued against the bill.

"These folks will end up in our emergency rooms – their debts, their medical care, will end up on the balance sheets of our hospitals in the bad debts section," Frederick said.  "It’s basically not fair that the taxpayers and the rest of society has to underwrite this dangerous activity."

Frederick says he could have supported the bill if it had required un-helmeted motorcyclists to buy proper health coverage.  The bill passed, but not by a large enough margin to overcome a potential veto from Governor Jay Nixon (D).  He vetoed a similar bill four years ago.

It now heads to the Missouri Senate, with with just two weeks left in the 2013 legislative session.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:  @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.