SB 397 — Motorcycles — Protective Headgear Requirement — Exception
(In Remembrance of Gary “Pappy” Boward)
Status & procedural timeline
- Introduced: January 20, 2025 (Sen. McKay). Assigned to the Judicial Proceedings Committee. Hearing scheduled Feb 4, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. (listed as first reader Feb 2, 2025 in fiscal materials).
- Effective date (as drafted): October 1, 2025.
Purpose / intent
- Establish a limited statutory exception to Maryland’s motorcycle helmet (protective headgear) requirement for certain experienced or trained adult riders and their passengers. The bill is titled in memory of Gary “Pappy” Boward.
Key provisions
- Amends Transportation Article §21‑1306 to create an exception to the protective headgear requirement for an individual who is at least 21 years old and who:
- Has been licensed to operate a motorcycle for at least 2 years; or
- Has completed an approved motorcycle rider safety course (approved by the Motor Vehicle Administrator or Motorcycle Safety Foundation); or
- Is a passenger on a motorcycle operated by a person who meets either of the above criteria.
- All other existing equipment requirements remain in place (e.g., eye-protective device or windscreen where applicable).
- Preserves the Administrator’s authority to approve/disapprove protective headgear and to adopt standards/specifications and publish approved lists.
- Retains existing civil‑evidence protections: failure to wear required headgear generally may not be used as evidence of negligence, contributory negligence, reduce recovery, or limit liability in civil actions; and rules limiting reference to protective headgear in certain civil trials are maintained.
- Retains criminal penalty framework for violations when applicable (existing law treats violations as a misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $500 and a District Court prepayment penalty of $110).
Who would be affected
- Primary: adult motorcycle operators (21+) who meet the licensing or rider-course criteria, and their passengers.
- Secondary: law enforcement (citation patterns), courts (handling prepayment/docketing), insurers, trauma centers and hospitals (potential public‑health impacts), and the Motor Vehicle Administrator (rule oversight/approval lists).
Fiscal and public‑health impacts
- State general fund fine revenues: likely minimal decrease beginning FY2026 due to fewer helmet‑related citations (FY2024 data: 171 citations statewide; prepayment penalty $110).
- Medicaid/healthcare: fiscal note projects any increase in Medicaid costs from reduced helmet use to be negligible, but acknowledges potential for increased head‑injury treatment if helmet use falls. For context, Maryland trauma centers treated 1,045 motorcycle‑crash patients in FY2024 (907 aged 21+), 164 of whom had head injuries (19 deaths); about one‑third of those with head injuries were unhelmeted.
- Overall fiscal effect is described as minimal to negligible in the fiscal note, but health impacts could be meaningful depending on behavioral change.
Practical effect summary
- If enacted, SB 397 would allow a subset of adult riders and their qualifying passengers to legally operate/ride without helmets, while maintaining regulatory oversight of helmet standards and preserving most existing legal protections and evidentiary rules. The law aims to balance rider autonomy for experienced/trained adults against potential traffic‑safety and public‑health tradeoffs.
