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Subcommittee advances bill letting localities require helmets for scooter riders under 15
Summary
A subcommittee advanced HB343 7–0 after sponsor Del. Martinez cited rising scooter incidents and her child’s concussions; the bill would allow localities to adopt ordinances requiring helmet use for under-15 riders of motorized and nonmotorized scooters.
Delegate Martinez told the Transportation, Highway Safety and Public Policy Subcommittee she introduced House Bill 343 after seeing children riding scooters without helmets and after her own son suffered concussions. “I was driving through Norfolk and there were a couple of kids on scooters that just didn’t either didn’t see me or didn’t care,” she said, adding that helmet use reduces the risk of serious injury.
The bill would grant localities authority to adopt ordinances requiring helmet use for riders under 15 on motorized skateboards, scooters and nonmotorized scooters; Martinez said the authority already exists for bicycles and other personal mobility devices. She cited a committee figure that incidents involving pedestrians, bicycles and scooters increased by more than 70 percent in 2025 compared with 2024.
No one spoke in opposition in the room or online, and the committee reported the bill favorably on a roll call vote, 7–0. Chair Delegate David Reed moved to report the bill; the chair noted the delay was to give sponsors and stakeholders time to refine language before full committee consideration.
The subcommittee’s action sends HB343 to the full Transportation Committee for further consideration. If approved there, affected local governments would have explicit authority to adopt helmet ordinances for the identified age group; the bill text does not prescribe helmet standards, leaving that detail to local ordinances.
The next procedural step is a hearing before the full Transportation Committee, where the committee’s recommendation and any amendments will be considered.
