STATUTE:
Chapter 35. Miscellaneous Provisions. Article 5. Miscellaneous Offenses. Sec. 28.35.245 Motorcycle Helmets.:" . . . (b) A person who is 18 years of age or older may not be required to wear a helmet while operating a motorcycle if the person is the holder of a license or endorsement to operate a motorcycle."(Approved by the Governor: June 25, 1996.)
FINE:
If you have information about the amount of the fine for violating Alaska's helmet law, please e-mail it to us. Thanks.
STANDARDS:
Title 28. Motor Vehicles. Chapter 05. Administration. Article 2. Vehicle Equipment Standards. Section 28.05.081 Approval of vehicle equipment."(a) When the commissioner has reason to believe that vehicle equipment being sold commercially in the state does not comply with the requirements of this title or regulations adopted under this title or other statutes and regulations, the commissioner may, after giving 30 days notice to the person holding the certificate of approval for the equipment in this state, conduct a hearing upon the question of compliance of the equipment. After the hearing, the commissioner shall determine whether the equipment is in compliance. If the equipment is not in compliance with the law, the commissioner shall give notice of that fact to the person holding the certificate of approval for the equipment in this state.
"(b) If, at the end of 90 days after the notice of noncompliance given under (a) of this section, the person holding the certificate of approval for the vehicle equipment has failed to satisfy the commissioner that the equipment as sold after the 90 days is in compliance with the law, the commissioner shall suspend or revoke the approval issued for the equipment until the equipment is resubmitted to, and retested by, a testing agency approved by the commissioner and is found to be in compliance with the law. The commissioner may, at the time of retest, purchase in the open market and submit to the testing agency one or more sets of the equipment. If the equipment upon retest fails to comply with the law, the commissioner may refuse to renew the certificate of approval of the equipment.
"(c) After January 1, 1978, a motorcycle helmet may not be manufactured or sold in this state that does not conform to standards established in regulations adopted by the commissioner. These regulations must provide for helmets that allow normal peripheral vision and hearing and minimize neck injuries to the wearer potentially caused by the helmet. For the purposes of this section and AS 28.05.011(2), a motorcycle helmet is considered to be vehicle equipment."
COURT DECISIONS:
We have been unable to uncover any court decision from a court of record, either from the Alabama Appellate or Supreme Courts, which indicates that the question of whether or not Alaska's helmet law is constitutional has not been addressed in the courts.
COMMENTARY:
We realize that most motorcyclists in Alaska do not feel impacted by the helmet law in any real way, at this time. There are two reasons, we believe, that it is important to maintain a constant vigilance regarding the Alaska helmet law: 1) We believe that helmets are dangerous in many situations, in that in addition to all the commonly accepted problems -- vision and hearing impairment, heat retention, and others -- the weight and design of most of the traditionally accepted helmet styles make then a serious threat to the neck, particularly a young neck. And, 2) a modification of the statute to include adults is much more of a threat when the statute is already on the books, and there are no complaints about it. We think it is very very important that motorcyclists complain, early and often. The price of freedom is, after all, eternal vigilance.
From our beginning in 1993, it has been the position of the Helmet Law Defense League that all helmet laws are unconstitutional , in the absence of clear guidelines on how to comply with the statute -- like, for instance, with a list of "approved helmets."
NO LIST? NO LAW! If a state, any state, cannot answer the question:
"How can a motorcyclist comply,
with certainty ,
with the provisions of the helmet law?"that state's statute(s) requiring the wearing of
a "helmet," "safety helmet," or "protective headgear"
is unconstitutionally vague.The Alaska Legislature is as a matter of law confined to adopting only those standards for helmets set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If the Alaska Legislature has caused any other standard to be adopted, anything other than Federal Motor Vehicle Standard (FMVSS) 218, the Alaska helmet law can be successfully challenged on that basis alone, and removed. (see Juvenile Products v. Edmisten , 568 F.Supp. 714 (1983))
If the Alaska Legislature has adopted FMVSS 218, the Alaska helmet law is thereby unconstitutionally vague and can be challenged on that basis, and removed. (see Washington v. Maxwell , 74 WASH.APP. 688, 878 P.2D 1220 (1994))
We believe that if you will write to the head of the Commissioner of Public Safety and ask how to comply with the helmet law, "with certainty," you can take the answer (or, more likely, refusal to answer) to the courts and Alaska can be 100% FREE of its helmet law!
