Barely a week after Nebraska's Legislature voted 41-0 to repeal the state's motorcycle helmet mandate, local law enforcement agencies are already reporting an uptick in helmetless riders.
Though neither agency offered concrete data, officials with the Lincoln Police Department and Lancaster County Sheriff's Office each reported Wednesday that street officers have observed a noticeable increase in the practice.
The problem: Nebraska's helmet mandate, which has been in place since 1989, won't expire until Jan. 1.Ìý
"From now until then, you still need to wear a helmet," Chief Deputy Sheriff Ben Houchin said during a media briefing Wednesday morning, where he and Lincoln Police Capt. Todd Kocian both reminded residents of the nearly seven-month gap between now and when the law takes effect.
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Until then, helmetless riders risk a $50 fine — though Houchin said the Sheriff's Office hasn't ticketed any riders for violating the helmet mandate in the eight days since Ìý±è²¹²õ²õ±ð»å.
When it becomes law in January, the bill will allow any motorcyclist or passenger 21 or older to ride without a helmet — as long as they have completed a basic motorcycle safety course and, for state residents, submitted proof of completion to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Helmetless riders also have to wear eye protection, be it glasses, goggles or a face shield, unless their motorcycle or moped's windshield protects the rider's line of vision "in all operating positions."
Riders from other states could also ride without a helmet in Nebraska if they have taken an equivalent course and carry proof of completion.
The bill will make violations of the new set of rules governing helmet and eye protection use secondary offenses, meaning that law enforcement will only be able to ticket riders for helmet violations if they are stopped for some other traffic offense.
For some motorcyclists, LB138's safety course requirement — and the still-evolving logistics surrounding collection of course completion data — may serve as a roadblock in the route to legal helmetless riding, said Rhonda Lahm, the director of Nebraska's DMV.
Lahm said many motorcyclists complete such courses before they ever become licensed motorcycle operators in the state, since applicants can have both their written and driving tests waived if they show proof of completion to the DMV.
But those who took the other route to licensing — opting instead to take the written and driving tests through the DMV — will have to complete a basic motorcycle safety course before they're legally allowed to ride without a helmet.
Lahm said members of both camps will have to carry proof of completion of such a course with them when they ride or provide proof to the DMV to have it noted on their driver record — though there isn't yet a mechanism in place for motorcyclists to do so.
"The legislation just passed, and that amendment got amended on in — literally — the very last couple days of the session," she said. "And we had no indication that that bill was gonna get included or passed this year, so we are just in the preliminary stages of talking about what that's gonna look like."
Lahm said the DMV will develop and publicize a process to collect motorcycle safety course data from licensees before the end of the year.
More than 86% of motorcyclists killed in Nebraska crashes over the last nine years were wearing helmets when they crashed, Department of Transportation in January.
From 2014 to 2022, 195 of the 226 motorcyclists killed in crashes in Nebraska were wearing helmets, according to the report, while  near 85% and has fallen by nearly 50%.
In Missouri, where lawmakers passed a similar repeal that took affect in August 2020, motorcycle fatalities increased by 35% in 2021 over the prior year — while overall traffic fatalities increased by only 2%.
More than half of the record 159 motorcyclists killed on Missouri roadways in 2021 were not wearing a helmet, according to Missouri Department of Transportation data, which Nebraska officials included in .Ìý
In Nebraska, Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair initially proposed the newly passed repeal through a separate bill but later added it as an amendment to LB138 with two weeks left in the legislative session, which ended June 1.
Amid Hansen's bid to attach the amended to LB138 in late May, several of his colleagues expressed support, even as they recounted personal experiences with motorcycle crashes.
Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner said two of her nephews died while riding motorcycles, one who was wearing a helmet and one who was not. Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil said a motorcycle helmet saved his life as a young man.
And Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington signaled support for the bill for the sake of motorcyclists' personal freedom, saying the Legislature “should not be involved in these personal decisions, even though I know more people will die."
But other lawmakers pushed back against that suggestion, including Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus, who said the government tells people what to do in many situations, including wearing seat belts, putting children in car seats and obeying speed limits.
Moser voted against Hansen's bid to have the helmet mandate repeal added amendment an amended to LB138, but the adoption passed 30-5, with 12 senators present not voting.Ìý
A week later, all four senators — Ibach, Murman, DeBoer and Moser — voted in support of the bill, which Gov. Jim Pillen signed June 1.