Wanna Keep Riding Lid-Free? Proposed Law Would Require Biker Safety Course

Come Bike Week 2008, you might see a few extra helmets dotting the Harley landscape. Or not. That all depends on whether South Carolina legislators decide to act on proposed changes to the state’s motorcycle safety laws.

The State reported Wednesday that a government task force is working on recommendations to strengthen these laws – including one that would closely mirror a Pennsylvania law that requires riders to wear helmets unless they have either taken a motorcycle riding course or received a permanent (non-beginner’s) motorcycle license.

Current state law only requires riders under the age of 21 to wear helmets. Any legislative push beyond that requirement would likely meet stiff resistance from the General Assembly, which for decades has remained steadfast in its refusal to mandate universal helmet laws. Even if it got through the General Assembly, Gov. Mark Sanford appears likely to veto it. Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer confirmed as much, telling The State that “The function of government is to assure freedom rather than security, and that includes the freedom to make stupid decisions. Not wearing a helmet is not the best decision. But the governor’s bias is going to be leaving it up to the individual.”

As host of one of the “Big Four” bike rallies, Myrtle Beach joins its counterparts in Sturgis, Daytona and Laconia whose home states are not subject to universal helmet laws. South Carolina, South Dakota and Florida have partial laws that cover younger riders, while New Hampshire – the “Live Free or Die” state – extends its state motto tradition by imposing no helmet laws at all.

Several hundred thousand participants flock to each rally, year after year, and from zip codes throughout and well beyond the continental United States. They bring millions in tourism revenue with them. And they like the feeling of freedom that riding brings them.

How would you rate the chances of South Carolina’s helmet law changing any time soon?