Senate floor rejects ebike, scooter safety bill after extended debate over helmets and legal evidence

The Senate on Tuesday declined to advance a bill intended to update rules for electric bicycles, scooters and similar devices after an extended floor debate over safety standards and legal consequences.

Senator Linda Plumb, sponsor of the motor-assisted transportation devices measure, said the bill was designed to increase safety on sidewalks and paved paths and to clarify distinctions among classes of electric bicycles and other motor-assisted devices. "This bill really was to look... at those sidewalks, paved paths, more public, not off road spaces," Plumb said, adding the measure includes a helmet requirement for riders under 21 and clarifications banning multiple riders on single-rider devices.

Floor debate turned to an amendment offered by Senator Brammer that would have allowed evidence of helmet nonuse to be admitted in civil cases as relevant to mitigation of damages. Brammer argued juries should be able to consider whether an injured person had not followed a safety law; several senators opposed the amendment, saying it would effectively penalize victims and reduce recoveries in injury cases.

Senator McHale said insurers would use helmet nonuse against injured parties, potentially causing catastrophic reductions in recovery. Senator Plumb said she did not want to "punish" people who fail to wear helmets even as she supported helmet use.

Another floor issue was the age threshold. The bill applied the helmet rule to riders 21 and under; Senator Tim Weiler objected to treating 18-to-20-year-olds differently from other adults. After discussion the sponsor agreed to circle the bill and work on an amendment to consider lowering the age to 18.

A motion to adopt the third substitute and read it for a third time failed in a roll-call vote (11 yes, 13 no, 5 absent), and the bill will be returned to staff for further work.