Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
HARTFORD – A bill that would require all motorcycle operators and passengers to wear protective headgear when out on the road has been introduced in the General Assembly, revisiting an issue that has been attempted and rejected nearly a dozen times since the state repealed its helmet law in 1976.
Proposed earlier this week by Rep. Tony Guerrera (D-29th District), who is House Chair of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, Bill No. 6048 would “require the use of helmets by motorcycle operators and passengers.” The bill was today referred to the Transportation Committee.
Currently, only riders 17 and under are required to wear a helmet in CT.
Expected to oppose the bill is the Connecticut Motorcycle Riders Association, a politically active, non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to lobby the legislature. On its website, CMRA lists among its “achievements” that it has “repeatedly defeated attempts to reinstate the mandatory helmet law for adult motorcycle riders.”
RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland sought a reaction from the CMRA regarding the proposed bill and received a “No comment.”
– By Bud Wilkinson
