00                            SENATE BILL NO. 12                                                                          
01 "An Act requiring a person under 16 years of age to wear a helmet when riding a                                         
02 bicycle; and providing for an effective date."                                                                          
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section                         
05 to read:                                                                                                                
06       SHORT TITLE.  This Act may be known as the "Child Helmet Law and Brain Injury                                     
07 Prevention Act."                                                                                                        
08    * Sec. 2.  The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                         
09 read:                                                                                                                   
10       PURPOSE.  The purpose of this Act is to                                                                           
11            (1)  prevent the disability and death of children in the state resulting from head                           
12 injuries sustained in bicycle accidents;                                                                                
13            (2)  prevent head injuries, which are the leading cause of disability and death                              
14 from bicycle accidents;                                                                                                 

01            (3)  reduce costs to the state associated with head injuries, including long-term                            
02 care costs; and                                                                                                         
03            (4)  reduce the risk involved in bicycling on a public highway, roadway, or                                  
04 vehicular way or area by mandating that children's heads are protected.                                                 
05    * Sec. 3.  AS 05.90 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                    
06            Sec. 05.90.010.  Required use of bicycle helmet.  (a)  A person who is under                               
07       16 years of age may not ride a bicycle on a public highway, roadway, vehicular way or                             
08       area, bicycle path, or other public right-of-way, unless the person, at all times, wears a                        
09       protective helmet of good fit, fastened securely upon the person's head with the straps                           
10       of the helmet.                                                                                                    
11            (b)  A parent or legal guardian of a person under 16 years of age may not                                    
12       knowingly permit the person under 16 years of age to ride a bicycle in violation of (a)                           
13       of this section.                                                                                                  
14            (c)  A municipality may adopt standards as strict as or more stringent than the                              
15       requirements of this section.                                                                                     
16            (d)  A person who violates this section is guilty of a violation and is subject to                           
17       the following penalties:                                                                                          
18                 (1)  for a first offense, a warning or a fine not to exceed $25; a court                                
19       may waive the fine imposed under this paragraph upon presentation of evidence that                                
20       the violator has purchased or procured a bicycle helmet and demonstrates the intention                            
21       of using the helmet as required by law;                                                                           
22                 (2)  for a second or subsequent offense, a fine not to exceed $50.                                      
23            (e)  In this section,                                                                                        
24                 (1)  "bicycle" means a human-powered vehicle with two or more                                           
25       wheels designed to transport, by the action of pedaling, one or more persons seated on                            
26       one or more saddle seats on the vehicle's frame;                                                                  
27                 (2)  "bicycle helmet" means a piece of headgear that meets or exceeds                                   
28       the impact standard for protective bicycle helmets set by the United States Consumer                              
29       Products Safety Commission, the Snell Memorial Foundation, or the American                                        
30       Society for Testing and Materials, or an established safety standard adopted by law;                              
31                 (3)  "highway" has the meaning given in AS 28.40.100;                                                   

01                 (4)  "roadway" has the meaning given in AS 28.40.100;                                                   
02                 (5)  "vehicular way or area" has the meaning given in AS 28.40.100.                                     
03    * Sec. 4.  This Act takes effect July 1, 2001.