2020 Georgia Code
Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 6 - Uniform Rules of the Road
Article 13 - Special Provisions for Certain Vehicles
Part 2 - Motorcycles
§ 40-6-315. Headgear and Eye-Protective Devices for Riders

1. No person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle unless he or she is wearing protective headgear which complies with standards established by the commissioner of public safety.
2. No person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle if the motorcycle is not equipped with a windshield unless he or she is wearing an eye-protective device of a type approved by the commissioner of public safety.
3. This Code section shall not apply to persons riding within an enclosed cab or motorized cart. This Code section shall not apply to a person operating a three-wheeled motorcycle used only for agricultural purposes.
4. The commissioner of public safety is authorized to approve or disapprove protective headgear and eye-protective devices required in this Code section and to issue and enforce regulations establishing standards and specifications for the approval thereof. The commissioner shall publish in print or electronically lists of all protective headgear and eye-protective devices by name and type which have been approved.

(Ga. L. 1969, p. 732, § 3; Code 1933, § 68A-1306, enacted by Ga. L. 1974, p. 633, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 1329, § 2; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 5; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5A-8; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 18-11/HB 501; Ga. L. 2010, p. 838, § 10/SB 388.)

- Protective headgear required for operators and passengers upon a moped, § 40-6-352

- Specifications for Protective Headgear for Vehicular Users, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Department of Public Safety, Chapter 570-13.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Constitutionality.

- O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315 is a valid exercise of police power. Ritter v. State, 258 Ga. 551, 372 S.E.2d 230 (1988).

There is no First Amendment right to ride a motorcycle wearing a baseball cap, a bandanna, or bareheaded. ABATE of Ga., Inc. v. Georgia, 137 F. Supp. 2d 1349 (N.D. Ga. 2001), aff'd, 264 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir. 2001).

O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315 does not violate due process on grounds that a motorcyclist cannot determine whether the motorcyclist is meeting the headgear requirements of the statute. ABATE of Ga., Inc. v. Georgia, 137 F. Supp. 2d 1349 (N.D. Ga. 2001), aff'd, 264 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir. 2001).

O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315 does not violate the equal protection rights of motorcycle riders under the Fourteenth Amendment. ABATE of Ga., Inc. v. Georgia, 137 F. Supp. 2d 1349 (N.D. Ga. 2001), aff'd, 264 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir. 2001).

Motorcycle helmet law, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315, does not require that the Georgia Board of Public Safety issue a list approving specific types of headgear and, therefore, the failure of the board to publish a list of approved headgear and eye-protective devices did not violate the plaintiff's rights under the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. ABATE of Ga., Inc. v. Georgia, 264 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 536 U.S. 924, 122 S. Ct. 2592, 153 L. Ed. 2d 781 (2002).

Motorcycle helmet law, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-315, is not unconstitutionally vague. ABATE of Ga., Inc. v. Georgia, 264 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 536 U.S. 924, 122 S. Ct. 2592, 153 L. Ed. 2d 781 (2002).

- O.C.G.A. § 40-6-313 does not require the Board of Public Safety to approve specific types of headgear; the statute does require the establishment of compliance standards through regulations. Dowis v. State, 243 Ga. App. 354, 533 S.E.2d 34 (2000).

Although it may be debatable whether particular types of headgear comply with standards established by the Board of Public Safety, it is absolutely clear that a cloth bandana does not. Dowis v. State, 243 Ga. App. 354, 533 S.E.2d 34 (2000).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 252. 8 Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 599.

- Motorcyclist's failure to wear helmet or other protective equipment as affecting recovery for personal injury or death, 85 A.L.R.4th 365.

Validity of traffic regulations requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets or other protective gear, 72 A.L.R.5th 607.