By Doug Thompson
Stephens Media

LITTLE ROCK — Legislation that would require motorcycle riders to wear helmets failed to clear the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday.

House Bill 1481 by Rep. Gene Shelby, D-Hot Springs, would remove a provision from state law that makes protective headgear voluntary for motorcyclists 21 or older. 

Supporters of the bill called the decision to not wear a helmet a personal choice that affects other people, particularly the friends and family of those who die or are crippled by head injuries.

Col. Win Phillips, the state police director, told the committee he had “no doubt in my mind that helmets save lives.”

But some opponents questioned the safety of wearing protective headgear, and supporters of an annual bikers festival in Fayetteville said making headgear mandatory would hurt the event economically.

Rodney Roberts of Little Rock, a motorcycle dealer, said a 4-pound helmet traveling at 60 miles an hour still travels forward when the wearer’s body comes to a sudden stop in an accident. The result is 400 pounds worth of force on the wearer’s neck in that accident, more than enough to break a neck, Roberts said.

Helmets cause as many injuries as they prevent, particularly on hot days when the sweat and discomfort they cause create a distraction, he said. 

“Given a choice, most people will make a good choice,” Roberts said.

Former state Rep. Phil Jackson of Berryville and other opponents of the bill referred to the annual Bikes, Blues and BBQ festival in Fayetteville as an example of the economic importance of choice in protective headgear.

“I know riders from Illinois and Kansas who always wear helmets but still ride around Missouri to get here because that state has a (mandatory) helmet law,” said Jackson, who owns the Iron Horse Stables in Eureka Springs, which caters to motorcycle riders. “They believe people should have a choice,” he said.

The bill failed on a voice vote.