Oregon Motorcycle Helmet Laws
- Oregon motorcycle fatalities decreased after a mandatory helmet law was passed.motos image by thierry planche from Fotolia.com
The National Transportation Safety Board reported that in 2004 there were 4,810 motorcycle fatalities in the United States. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported, in 2004, that immediately after implementing a law making the use of motorcycle helmets obligatory, the number of motorcyclists who died in crashes in Oregon decreased by 33 percent. Oregon law follows the federal recommendations for helmet safety standards. - Standard No. 218 of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards gives specific guidelines for the manufacture of motorcycle helmets. The standard requires that helmets pass a rigorous safety test to ensure that no penetration of the helmet or unfastening of the chin strap occur upon impact. The standard also mandates the manufacturer to affix a "DOT sticker" to helmets to demonstrate compliance with the safety requirement.
- Title 59 of the Oregon Revised Statutes, known as the Oregon Vehicle Code, stipulates that both the failure of a passenger and the failure of an operator of a motorcycle to wear a helmet result in a Class D violation. Class D violations, defined at 153.018 of the Oregon Revised Statutes, are punishable by a $90 fine.
- The Oregon Revised Statutes, 801.366, give an exact definition for a motorcycle helmet and incorporate the federal safety standard. It is defined as "a protective covering for the head consisting of a hard outer shell, padding adjacent to and inside the outer shell and a chin-strap type retention system with a sticker indicating that the motorcycle helmet meets standards established by the United States Department of Transportation."
- The U.S. District Court considered a challenge to Oregon's definition of helmet in which the plaintiff alleged that highway patrols were not implementing the definition of helmet correctly. The court agreed with the plaintiff and stated that the definition was clear and that patrol officers need only verify that a "DOT sticker" is affixed to the helmet. According to the court, once an officer confirms that the helmet has a DOT sticker, no further inquiry is permitted.
