Text: SF00320 Text: SF00322 Text: SF00300 - SF00399 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. INTENT AND FINDINGS. It is the intent of the
1 2 general assembly to require that all children under the age of
1 3 fourteen wear an approved bicycle helmet when riding on a
1 4 bicycle or when riding in a trailer towed by a bicycle. The
1 5 general assembly finds and declares the following:
1 6 1. Each year hundreds of children are killed and many more
1 7 injured in bicycle-related accidents.
1 8 2. Head injuries account for more than half of all
1 9 bicycle-related deaths and emergency room visits.
1 10 3. The single most effective safety device available to
1 11 reduce head injuries and fatalities from bicycle crashes is a
1 12 bicycle helmet. Helmets have been shown to significantly
1 13 reduce the risk of head injury and of brain injury.
1 14 4. In addition to saving lives and preventing injuries,
1 15 bicycle helmets save money in avoided health care costs and
1 16 other costs to society.
1 17 Sec. 2. Section 321.236, Code 2001, is amended by adding
1 18 the following new subsection:
1 19 NEW SUBSECTION. 14. Requiring the use of bicycle helmets
1 20 as provided in section 321.435 or in any other manner.
1 21 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 321.435 BICYCLE HELMETS.
1 22 1. If a local authority adopts an ordinance or resolution
1 23 that regulates the use of bicycles, the ordinance or
1 24 resolution may include any or all of the following types of
1 25 provisions:
1 26 a. Prohibits a person under fourteen years of age from
1 27 operating a bicycle, or riding on a bicycle as a passenger,
1 28 unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened
1 29 bicycle helmet which meets the standards of the American
1 30 national standards institute or the 1990 standard for
1 31 protective headgear for use in bicycling produced by the Snell
1 32 memorial foundation or another appropriate standard.
1 33 b. Requires a person under fourteen years of age who rides
1 34 on a bicycle while in a restraining seat which is attached to
1 35 the bicycle or in a trailer towed by a bicycle to wear a
2 1 helmet that meets the standards described in paragraph "a".
2 2 c. Requires a person regularly engaged in the business of
2 3 renting bicycles to provide a helmet to any person required to
2 4 wear a helmet by the ordinance or resolution who will operate
2 5 the bicycle, if the person does not already have a helmet. A
2 6 reasonable fee may be charged for the helmet rental.
2 7 2. A person regularly engaged in the business of renting
2 8 bicycles who is regulated by an ordinance or resolution
2 9 adopted under subsection 1, paragraph "c", and who complies
2 10 with that paragraph is not liable for damages for any injuries
2 11 sustained by a bicycle operator or passenger as a result of
2 12 the operator's or passenger's failure to wear a helmet or to
2 13 wear a properly fitted or fastened helmet in violation of an
2 14 ordinance or resolution adopted under this section.
2 15 3. A violation of an ordinance or resolution adopted under
2 16 this section shall not be considered admissible or material as
2 17 evidence of comparative fault under chapter 668.
2 18 4. The department of public health shall publish a list of
2 19 bicycle helmets that meet the standards described in
2 20 subsection 1, paragraph "a".
2 21 Sec. 4. MATERIALS TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES. The department of
2 22 public health shall work in conjunction with the Iowa safe
2 23 kids coalition to provide bicycle safety education information
2 24 to local communities for distribution in those communities.
2 25 EXPLANATION
2 26 This bill allows local authorities to adopt ordinances or
2 27 resolutions that regulate the use of bicycles in any or all of
2 28 the following manners or in any other manner:
2 29 Requires persons under 14 years of age who are operating or
2 30 riding on a bicycle to wear bicycle helmets.
2 31 Requires persons under 14 years of age who ride on a
2 32 bicycle while in a restraining seat attached to the bicycle or
2 33 in a trailer towed by a bicycle to wear bicycle helmets.
2 34 Requires persons renting bicycles to the public to provide
2 35 helmets to renters for a reasonable fee.
3 1 The bill also provides that persons renting bicycles in
3 2 compliance with such a local ordinance or resolution are not
3 3 liable for damages sustained as a result of an operator's or
3 4 passenger's failure to properly wear a helmet.
3 5 The bill provides that a violation of an ordinance or
3 6 resolution adopted under the Act shall not be evidence of
3 7 comparative fault under Code chapter 668.
3 8 The bill requires the department of public health to
3 9 publish a list of approved bicycle helmets.
3 10 The bill directs the department of public health to work
3 11 with the Iowa safe kids coalition to distribute bicycle safety
3 12 education information to local communities.
3 13 LSB 1829SV 79
3 14 nh/cf/24
Text: SF00320 Text: SF00322 Text: SF00300 - SF00399 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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