BILL NUMBER: SB 192 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Liu
FEBRUARY 10, 2015
An act to amend Section 21212 of add and
repeal Section 21213 of the Vehicle Code, relating to bicycles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 192, as amended, Liu. Bicycles: helmets.
Existing law prohibits a person under 18 years of age from
operating a bicycle, riding on a bicycle as a passenger, or riding in
a trailer towed by a bicycle unless the person is wearing a bicycle
helmet meeting specified standards. A violation of those provisions
is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $25.
This bill would require every person, regardless of age,
to wear a bicycle helmet when operating a bicycle, riding on a
bicycle as a passenger, or riding in a trailer towed by a bicycle.
The bill would also require a person engaged in these activities in
the darkness to wear retroreflective high-visibility safety apparel,
as specified. Because a violation of this requirement would be a
crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
require the Office of Traffic Study, in coordination
with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, to conduct a
comprehensive study of bicycle helmet use, including specified
information, and to report the study's findings to the Senate
Committee on Transportation and Housing and the Assembly Committee on
Transportation by January 1, 2017.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 21213 is added to
the Vehicle Code , to read:
21213. (a) The Office of Traffic Study, in coordination with the
department, shall conduct a comprehensive study of bicycle helmet
use, including, but not limited to, determining the percentage of
California bicyclists who do not wear helmets, and the fatalities or
serious injuries that could have been avoided if helmets had been
worn. A report of the study's findings shall be submitted to the
Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing and the Assembly
Committee on Transportation by January 1, 2017.
(b) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on January, 1, 2021.
SECTION 1. Section 21212 of the Vehicle Code is
amended to read:
21212. (a) (1) A person shall not operate a bicycle, or ride upon
a bicycle as a passenger, upon a street, bikeway, as defined in
Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code, or any other public
bicycle path or trail unless that person is wearing a properly fitted
and fastened bicycle helmet that meets the standards of either the
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the United
States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), or standards
subsequently established by those entities. This requirement also
applies to a person who rides upon a bicycle while in a restraining
seat that is attached to the bicycle or in a trailer towed by the
bicycle.
(2) A person shall not engage in the activities described in
paragraph (1) in the darkness, as defined in Section 280, unless that
person is wearing high-visibility safety apparel, which may include
a vest, jacket, or shirt, that is retroreflective and meets the
requirements of the American National Standard for High-Visibility
Safety Apparel and Headwear, published by the American National
Standards Institute/International Safety Equipment Association or
standards subsequently established by those entities.
(b) A person under 18 years of age shall not operate a
nonmotorized scooter or a skateboard, nor wear in-line or roller
skates, nor ride upon a nonmotorized scooter or a skateboard as a
passenger, upon a street, bikeway, as defined in Section 890.4 of the
Streets and Highways Code, or any other public bicycle path or trail
unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle
helmet that meets the safety standards described in subdivision (a).
(c) Any helmet sold or offered for sale for use by operators and
passengers of bicycles, nonmotorized scooters, skateboards, or
in-line or roller skates shall be conspicuously labeled in accordance
with the standard described in subdivision (a) which shall
constitute the manufacturer's certification that the helmet conforms
to the applicable safety standards.
(d) No person shall sell, or offer for sale, for use by an
operator or passenger of a bicycle, nonmotorized scooter, skateboard,
or in-line or roller skates any safety helmet is not of a type
meeting requirements established by this section.
(e) Any charge under this subdivision shall be dismissed when the
person charged alleges in court, under oath, that the charge against
the person is the first charge against that person under this
subdivision, unless it is otherwise established in court that the
charge is not the first charge against the person.
(f) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (e), a violation of this
section is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than
twenty-five dollars ($25).
(2) The parent or legal guardian having control or custody of an
unemancipated minor whose conduct violates this section shall be
jointly and severally liable with the minor for the amount of the
fine imposed pursuant to this subdivision.
(g) Notwithstanding Section 1463 of the Penal Code or any other
provision of law, the fines collected for a violation of this section
shall be allocated as follows:
(1) Seventy-two and one-half percent of the amount collected shall
be deposited in a special account of the county health department,
to be used for bicycle, nonmotorized scooter, skateboard, and in-line
and roller skate safety education and for assisting low-income
families in obtaining approved bicycle helmets for children under 18
years of age, either on a loan or purchase basis. The county may
contract for the implementation of this program, which, to the extent
practicable, shall be operated in conjunction with the child
passenger restraint program pursuant to Section 27360.
(2) Two and one-half percent of the amount collected shall be
deposited in the county treasury to be used by the county to
administer the program described in paragraph (1).
(3) If the violation occurred within a city, 25 percent of the
amount collected shall be transferred to and deposited in the
treasury of that city. If the violation occurred in an unincorporated
area, this 25 percent shall be deposited and used pursuant to
paragraph (1).
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this
act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.