Helmet Laws in Alabama

[2WheelerFred]

d) The Director of Public Safety is hereby authorized to approve or disapprove protective headgear, and to issue and enforce regulations establishing standards and specifications for the approval thereof. The Director of Public Safety shall publish lists of all protective headgear which have been approved by him or her.

(e) No person shall knowingly permit or allow any juvenile for whom he or she is a parent or guardian to operate or ride upon a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle while not wearing a protective helmet of the kind authorized by Section 32-12-41.


The protective helmet shall meet the following specifications:

(1) DESIGN. One which is specifically designed for motorcycle riders and motorcycle passenger use.

(2) EXTERIOR SHELL. A hard exterior shell of nonshatterable material, resistant to impact and penetration.

(3) CRADLE. A firmly secured shock absorbent cradle for the head designed to support the helmet and maintain separation between the head and outer shell. Materials used in this portion of protective helmet shall be of durable quality and with characteristics that will not undergo appreciable alteration under the influence of aging or of the circumstances of use to which the helmet is normally subjected. Materials commonly known to cause skin irritation or disease shall not be used for these parts of the assembly which come in contact with the skin.

(4) PADDING. Impact-resistant, absorbent padding or cushioning material of substantial thickness in all areas where the head is in close proximity with or may contact the outer shell.

(5) CHIN STRAP. A permanently attached adjustable chin strap that will hold the helmet securely in place. A rider must at all times, while a motorized vehicle is in motion, have a chin strap firmly in place on or under the chin.

http://msf-usa.org/downloads/Protective_gear_REV.pdf

[kriscook]

I'm pretty sure that somewhere it says it's unlawful to have protrusions that stick out of your helmet any more than 1/4", too.  I'll see if I can find it, when I get time.

[2WheelerFred]

Yes that part is true as well Kris, I wrote an article for the press register here in Mobile so perhaps it will get published. Here is the article in it's entirety

Motorcycle Legislation in Alabama
Happens by Accident

Motorcycles have always been popular in south Alabama and for good reason. They are inexpensive to a large degree, cheap to operate and fun to ride in a place where the riding season takes only the smallest of breaks. Our state government though believes in leaving motorcyclist alone when it comes to laws, no meaningful legislation regarding motorcycling has been passed since the early to mid nineties. That piece of legislation caused about 2 million drivers license holders in this state to earn a motorcycle endorsement even though they never intended to ride. This has the adverse affect of causing federal funds that may be directed to us to be lost because the motorcycle accident to licensed rider ratio is skewed since there are only about 126,000 registered motorcycles Alabama our neighbor to the southeast Florida have a little over 800,000 licensed riders and 650,000 registered motorcycles.
Speaking of licenses every driver in this state if they  are new to driving must take both a written and a driving exam before you can be licensed, If they are a teen they must obtain a learners permit, unless you ride a motorcycle. If you ride a motorcycle you simply take a written test and ride off into the great intersection in the sky, oblivious to that truck that is about to run you over. A fellow rider friend of mine compared riding a motorcycle to flying a helicopter without leaving the ground, both hands and both feet must all function together, since he was an Army pilot during Vietnam, I figured he knew what he was taking about. Currently the state will accept course completion from a HS Drivers Ed course, but will not accept one from it’s own motorcycle safety program, even though the instructors are certified through a nationally recognized motorcycle safety organization. (MSF)
Helmet law in Alabama occurred in 1967 and has not progressed much more than that although there was new legislation passed in 1980 requiring motorcyclist to follow the code written in 1967 fun stuff huh? Oh yes the Director of Public Safety shall publish lists of all protective headgear which have been approved by him or her according to the code of Alabama and try as I may I can not find this.
Tax, tax, tax today we hear it more and more and we hear politicians promise no new taxes only to hide them in legislation in other ways or forms. If you own a motorcycle in Alabama thanks to legislation passed in the early 80’s you pay 5% higher rate for your tag than you do for your car, motorcycle owners who have been riding for any length of time know this and have tried unsuccessfully to get us placed into the same category as cars. Motorcycles after all take up less space on the road have a smaller footprint than most cars, pays the same amount of tax on gasoline at the pump as car drivers do.
The State Safety Coordinating Committee was established  in 1965 the membership in this group is varied but has  the Governor as chair, the Director of Public Safety, the Director of the State Department of Transportation among others and a person appointed by the Governor for a term of four years from the state at-large. These people could effect legislation for motorcyclist, but feel an antiquated helmet law is all we need. Things such as motorcycle rider education and Motorcycle Awareness campaigns have not been addressed or likely to be considering the groups current feeling for motorcyclist.
Dixie ABATE (American Bikers Aimed Toward Education) of Alabama  was formed in 2009 and is a motorcyclists' rights organization dedicated to preserving individual freedom and promoting safety. We fully support rider training, including safety and educational programs, as well as motorcycle awareness education for all automobile drivers for more info  www.dixieabate.org


Fred Wheeler
Is a Member of Dixie ABATE
MSF Rider Coach with the Alabama Motorcycle Safety Program

[kriscook]

I like it.

I'm off to bed now, but if I have time tomorrow I'll copy and paste it into a Word document, and edit it for punctuation if you want. 
You know me.  Nazi grammar lady.  Just ask Matthew.   

But I do it for free.  And I'm so GOOD at it.

Although I did notice that I totally forgot to finish one sentence in my Notes email tonight.  *facepalm*

[Jim]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/1/repeal-of-helmet-law-gains-traction-in-michigan/

A model for success!

[2WheelerFred]

“There is a fairly large and passionate group that has mounted a sustained effort for more than a decade to get this done,” he said. “They have made a good case that this is indeed a matter of individual liberty versus government overreach.”

The model you propose is sustained for more than a decade by a large group, I dare say that we "Dixie ABATE" would consitute a large group at just barely over 200 members state wide (guesstimate)

[kriscook]

We're passionate, all right.  How you ever noticed that one mosquito in your bedroom at night will make you do just about anything?