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| To enact section 4511.531 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
| require bicycle operators and passengers under 18 | 2 |
| years of age to wear protective helmets when the | 3 |
| bicycle is operated on a roadway and to establish | 4 |
| the Bicycle Safety Fund to be used by the | 5 |
| Department of Public Safety to assist low-income | 6 |
| families in the purchase of bicycle helmets. | 7 |
| Section 1. That section 4511.531 of the Revised Code be | 8 |
| enacted to read as follows: | 9 |
| Sec. 4511.531. (A)(1) No person under eighteen years of age | 10 |
| shall operate a bicycle on a roadway unless that person is wearing | 11 |
| an approved helmet that is of good fit and is fastened securely on | 12 |
| the person's head. | 13 |
| (2) No person under eighteen years of age shall be a | 14 |
| passenger on a bicycle on a roadway, including as a passenger in a | 15 |
| restraining seat or in a bicycle trailer, unless the person is | 16 |
| wearing an approved helmet that is of good fit and is fastened | 17 |
| securely on the person's head. | 18 |
| (B)(1) Whoever violates division (A) of this section shall be | 19 |
| fined twenty-five dollars. The parent, guardian, or other person | 20 |
| having custody of the offender is responsible for the payment of | 21 |
| any fine imposed under this division. | 22 |
| (2) Upon receipt by the court of satisfactory proof that the | 23 |
| offender has a protective helmet, the court may waive the fine for | 24 |
| the violation. | 25 |
| (3) All fines collected for a violation of division (A) of | 26 |
| this section shall be forwarded to the treasurer of state and | 27 |
| credited to the bicycle safety fund, which is hereby created in | 28 |
| the state treasury. The department of public safety shall use the | 29 |
| money credited to the fund to assist low-income families in the | 30 |
| purchase of approved bicycle helmets in accordance with guidelines | 31 |
| the director of public safety shall establish. All investment | 32 |
| earnings of the bicycle safety fund shall be credited to the fund. | 33 |
| (C) The provisions of this section or a violation of those | 34 |
| provisions shall not be used as evidence in any civil action. | 35 |
| (D) As used in this section: | 36 |
| (1) "Approved helmet" means a helmet that meets or exceeds | 37 |
| the standards for protective bicycle helmets established by the | 38 |
| American national standards institute, the American society for | 39 |
| testing and materials, or the Snell memorial foundation. | 40 |
| (2) "Low-income family" means a family with an income not | 41 |
| exceeding the federal poverty guidelines as defined in section | 42 |
| 5101.46 of the Revised Code. | 43 |
| Section 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the | 44 |
| contrary, for the period of one year after the effective date of | 45 |
| this act, no law enforcement officer shall issue a ticket, | 46 |
| citation, or summons to a person who violates division (A) of | 47 |
| section 4511.531 of the Revised Code. During that time, the law | 48 |
| enforcement officer instead shall issue the person a written | 49 |
| warning explaining the provisions of section 4511.531 of the | 50 |
| Revised Code. The written warning may notify the person of the | 51 |
| specific date, one year after the effective date of this act, when | 52 |
| law enforcement officers shall begin enforcing the provisions of | 53 |
| section 4511.531 of the Revised Code. | 54 |