SB 13: "An Act requiring a person under 16 years of age to wear a helmet when operating or riding on an off-road vehicle; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 13 01 "An Act requiring a person under 16 years of age to wear a helmet when operating or 02 riding on an off-road vehicle; 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 Act for Off-Road 07 Vehicles and Snow Machines." 08 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 09 read: 10 PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this Act to reduce the incidence of death and disability 11 accidents related to off-road vehicle use by requiring that every person under 16 years of age 12 wear a protective helmet when operating or riding on an off-road vehicle. 13 * Sec. 3. AS 28.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 14 Sec. 28.05.102. Required use of helmet with off-road vehicle. (a) A person
01 who is under 16 years of age may not operate or ride on an off-road vehicle unless the 02 person wears a helmet that meets the helmet standards of the United States Consumer 03 Products Safety Commission or other protective headgear standards required by the 04 department. 05 (b) A parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of a person under 06 16 years of age may not knowingly, negligently, or recklessly authorize or permit the 07 person to operate or ride on an off-road vehicle in violation of (a) of this section. 08 (c) A municipality may adopt helmet standards as strict or more stringent than 09 those described in this section. 10 (d) A person who violates (a) or (b) of this section is guilty of a violation and 11 is subject to the following penalties: 12 (1) for a first offense, a warning or a fine not to exceed $25; a court 13 may waive a fine for a first violation of (a) of this section upon presentation of 14 evidence that the violator has purchased or procured a helmet that meets the 15 requirements of (a) of this section and demonstrates the intention of using the helmet 16 as required by law; 17 (2) for a second or subsequent offense, a fine not to exceed $50. 18 (e) In this section, an "off-road vehicle" means a vehicle that is not required to 19 be registered under AS 28.10.011 and includes a snow machine, a four-wheeler, an all- 20 terrain vehicle or a similar motorized vehicle, and a sled or other device towed by or in 21 any way attached to an off-road vehicle. 22 * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect July 1, 2001.