Want to ride a motorcycle without a helmet? Louisiana lawmakers consider allowing it
Louisiana motorcyclists could soon enjoy some extra wind in their hair — and confront an added dose of danger — under a bill that aims to repeal the state's helmet Louisiana lawmakers are considering allowing motorcycle riders over the age of 21 to ride without helmets, provided they have health insurance. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Rodney Schamerhorn, acknowledged that changing the law might cause more roadway deaths but argued that it was a personal privilege to choose what he wanted to do. The state House has advanced House Bill 317, which would repeal the state's helmet requirement.
Published : a month ago by James Finn in Politics Auto
Louisiana motorcyclists could soon enjoy some extra wind in their hair — and confront an added dose of danger — under a bill that aims to repeal the state's helmet requirement.
House Bill 317, advanced Tuesday by the state House, would let Louisiana residents over the age of 21 ride motorcycles without helmets, provided they have health insurance.
Rep. Rodney Schamerhorn, R-Hornbeck and the bill's sponsor, acknowledged changing the law might cause more roadway deaths. On the House floor, he described having lost several friends to motorcycle accidents in his lifetime. But government shouldn't regulate people's choices about protective headgear, he said.
"This here is a personal privilege to be able to do what you want to do with your life," Schamerhorn said. "You have to take your own life into your own hands."