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February 15, 2006- Motorcycle riders itching to ride with the wind blowing through their hair may hear today if the state Senate backs their plan to make helmet wearing optional for Massachusetts adults. 

Members of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association plan to descend on the State House to see if the Senate, after multiple delays, takes up a bill to repeal part of a state law that requires motorcycle drivers and passengers 21 years old and older to wear helmets. Younger people would still have to wear helmets. 

"It is a matter of personal choice, whether or not we wear a helmet," said Dick Schofield, the association’s Middlesex County representative. Yet the fate of the bill that has failed in past legislative sessions is uncertain. 

The Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts vehemently opposes it. State Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, is proposing a detailed amendment to make the bill more palatable, though even if his amendment passes Moore plans to vote against the final bill. 

"My concern is if the original bill passed it would be really terrible. And with this at least, if they’re able to convince the members to vote for it, I want it to be something that has precautions," Moore said. 

The bill, as filed by state Sen. Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, would strike from state law the requirement that anyone driving or riding as a passenger on a motorcycle 21 years old or older must wear protective headgear. 

Moore’s amendment would require such motorcycle riders, in exchange for not wearing helmets, to have an insurance plan providing at least $50,000 in medical benefits for motorcycle-related injuries and, in some cases, to take safety classes. 

His amendment also would give motorcycle owners more insurance options and increase penalties for all drivers who cause accidents while violating other drivers’ rights of way. 

Inta Hall, a lobbyist for the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts, said the $50,000 in insurance coverage would only cover a few days in intensive care for a severely brain damaged motorcycle rider. 

Framingham’s Bob Edwards, a brain injury survivor, said the benefits of the riders’ freedom should not outweigh the risks. 

"We have enough brain injuries in Massachusetts right now," Edwards said. 

Brewer said motorcycle riders are responsible people who have the right to make their own decisions about wearing helmets. 

"Motorcyclists are not the wild and crazy bunch that they were in 1954 when Marlon Brando was riding his motorcycle in ’The Wild Bunch,’" said Brewer. 

If the Senate passes the bill, the House would take it up next. 

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