WATERLOO, Iowa. Legislators: Motorcycle helmet law takes back seat to other issues..

OFF THE WIRE
Legislators: Motorcycle helmet law takes back seat to other issues
By JOSH NELSON, josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO, Iowa --- Cedar Valley legislators say Iowa likely won't be following its neighbors into requiring some sort of motorcycle helmet law, especially with other hot-topic issues like the budget or same-sex marriage possibly dominating the session.
Iowa, Illinois and New Hampshire are the only states in the union that don't have any sort of mandatory helmet laws either for minors or adults. Twenty states, including Nebraska and Missouri, require all riders to wear helmets.
"You've got a better chance of selling ice cubes to Eskimos than getting a helmet law passed in Iowa," said Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls.
Lawmakers say the first year of the upcoming General Assembly likely will be focused more on big-picture items like getting a balanced budget passed or advancing a ban on same-sex marriage.
"I suspect these kinds of debates will take a lot of time," said Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo.
Iowa had a mandate from 1975 to 1976 requiring all riders to wear helmets. Locally, lawmakers haven't heard calls to renew the mandate, and several said the decision to wear a helmet was a personal one for riders.
"They're adults, they can make that decision on their own," said Rep. Deborah Berry, D-Waterloo.
Danielson said he'd favor a more restrictive law mandating helmets for children under the age of 18. Twenty-seven states, including South Dakota, Kansas and Minnesota, have similar such laws.
State Rep.-elect Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, said he always wears a helmet when he's riding his motorcycle, but believes that is a personal decision. He said he'd oppose any helmet laws in the House.
Motorcycle groups like ABATE of Iowa have lobbied hard against such laws. The groups argue the helmet laws impinge on personal freedom and don't offer much protection when a large vehicle hits a motorcycle at highway speeds. ABATE and others focus instead on educational awareness programs for drivers and bikers.
Dotzler, an ABATE member, said he "wouldn't go more than 10 feet" without a helmet on a motorcycle or bicycle. But he didn't think a mandatory helmet law was necessary.
But that decision could be out of the hands of state lawmakers in the future. The National Transportation Safety Board is putting pressure on states to adopt a helmet mandate to make roads safer. Federal officials can threaten to withhold highway dollars if states don't adopt helmet laws. That was done in the past with stronger drunken driving and seat-belt requirements.