Ohio Helmet Law
The Ohio motorcycle helmet law states that motorcycle riders in Ohio are required to wear a helmet if they are under the age of 18. Riders with a “novice” license must also wear a helmet whenever operating their rides, regardless of their ages.
You don’t have to wear your motorcycle helmet in Ohio if you’re an adult with a standard motorcycle license, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. It is highly advised that you always wear your motorcycle helmet while riding. If your helmet doesn’t fit well or feels uncomfortable, then you should invest in a new helmet that feels right.
Liability & Helmet Use
The motorcycle helmet use laws in Ohio are not just important to protect your health. They are also important to protect your chances of receiving the most compensation possible when filing a motorcycle accident claim.
After a crash, the driver who hit you will look for reasons to blame you for what happened. At the least, they and their insurance provider will do what they can to increase your liability. If you didn’t have a helmet on when the crash happened, then they will underline that as a major cause of your injuries, and they might not be wrong.
Choosing not to wear a helmet gives the opposition the chance to use the “assumption of risk” defense against you in your claim. This defense says that you knowingly took an action that you understood increased your risk of suffering an injury, so you should be liable to a not-insignificant extent. Furthermore, if you suffered a head or brain injury in the accident but didn’t have a helmet on, then the defense can argue that those injuries likely would not have happened or would have happened to a lesser severity if you had a helmet on.
Basically, if you want to protect your health and your financial recovery from the aftermath of a motorcycle accident, wear your helmet at all times, even if the law doesn’t require it.
Our motorcycle accident law firm, Murray & Murray can help motorcycle accident survivors from across Ohio seek compensation. Contact our firm now for more information and to speak with our Ohio motorcycle accident lawyers.