The House and Senate have unanimously passed two bills related to highway and motor vehicle safety. Senate Bill 86 would require all motorcycle riders to wear a helmet in their first two years of having a motorcycle endorsement on their license. It would also extend the graduated helmet requirements to mopeds and tripeds.
Delaware Department of Transportation data shows that 25% of severe injury and fatal accidents occurred among Delaware licensed motorcycle riders within their first two years of obtaining a license. Over the last five years, there have been 35 deaths and 143 serious injuries among motorcyclists who were not wearing helmets.
I would prefer a requirement for all motorcycle riders to wear helmets no matter the length of their experience, as a 20 year rider can die just as easily from a head injury as a new rider. But this is better than nothing.
| Senate Bill 86 – Require New Motorcycle Riders to Wear a Helmet | Currrent Status – Senate Passed 20-0-1. House Passed 39-0-2. Sent to the Governor. |
| House Sponsors – Lynn, Baumbach, Griffith, Johnson, Osienski // Short, Briggs King, Dukes, Gray, Hilovsky | Senate Sponsors – Sokola, Gay, Hoffner, Townsend // Wilson |
| House Yes Votes – Baumbach Bolden Bush Carson Cooke Dorsey-Walker Griffith Harris Heffernan Johnson Lambert Longhurst Lynn Matthews Minor-Brown Morrison Neal Osienski Parker-Selby Phillips Romer Schwartzkopf Williams Wilson-Anton // Briggs King Collins Dukes Gray Hensley Hilovsky Morris Postles Ramone Short Shupe Smith Spiegelman Vanderwende Yearick | Senate Yes Votes – Brown Gay Hansen Hoffner Huxtable Lockman Mantzavinos McBride Paradee Pinkney Poore Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh // Buckson Hocker Lawson Pettyjohn Richardon |
| House No Votes – None | Senate No Votes – None |
| House Absents or Not Voting – Chukwuocha, Moore | Senate Absent or Not Voting – Wilson |
Senate Bill 68 would require children under two years of age or less than 30 pounds to be in a rear-facing seat with a 5-point harness.
Those under four years old and less than 40 pounds would need to be in a front- or rear-facing seat with a 5-point harness.
From age 4 to 16, using a booster to the maximum height and weight limits would be required.
Enforcement would only take place after a year-long awareness campaign. The bill would refine Delaware’s present child safety seat statute, which only requires an “appropriate” car seat or booster.
| Senate Bill 68 – Strengthen Child Safety Seat Requirements | Currrent Status – Senate Passed 21-0. House Passed 40-0-1. Sent to the Governor. |
| House Sponsors – Griffith, Heffernan, Cooke, Johnson // Dukes, Gray | Senate Sponsors – Gay, Townsend, Hoffner |
| House Yes Votes – Baumbach Bolden Bush Carson Chukwuocha Cooke Dorsey-Walker Griffith Harris Heffernan Johnson Lambert Longhurst Lynn Matthews Minor-Brown Morrison Neal Osienski Parker-Selby Phillips Romer Schwartzkopf Williams Wilson-Anton // Briggs King Collins Dukes Gray Hensley Hilovsky Morris Postles Ramone Short Shupe Smith Spiegelman Vanderwende Yearick | Senate Yes Votes – Brown Gay Hansen Hoffner Huxtable Lockman Mantzavinos McBride Paradee Pinkney Poore Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh // Buckson Hocker Lawson Pettyjohn Richardon Wilson |
| House No Votes – None | Senate No Votes – None |
| House Absents or Not Voting – Moore | Senate Absent or Not Voting – None |
0 comments on “House and Senate Pass Motor Vehicle Safety Bills”