Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 29-A
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 29-A, § 2083 (2026)

Protective headgear

✓ current as of May 2026
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1.  Requirement.  The following persons must wear protective headgear:  
A. If under 18 years of age, a passenger on a motorcycle or moped or in an attached side car;   [PL 2017, c. 51, §1 (AMD).]
B. If under 18 years of age, an operator of a motorcycle or moped;   [PL 2017, c. 51, §2 (AMD).]
C. An operator of a motorcycle or moped, operating under a learner's permit or within one year of successfully completing a driving test; and   [PL 2017, c. 51, §3 (AMD).]
D. A passenger of an operator required to wear headgear.   [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
This subsection does not apply to the operation of an autocycle.  
[PL 2019, c. 345, §8 (AMD).]
2.  Compliance.  An operator of a motorcycle or moped or a parent or guardian may not allow a passenger under the age of 18 years to ride in violation of this section.  
[PL 2017, c. 51, §4 (AMD).]
3.  Standard.  Protective headgear must conform with minimum standards of construction and performance as prescribed by the American National Standards Institute specifications Z 90.1 or by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218.  
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
4.  Public program.  In furtherance of reasonable protective public policy, the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Highway Safety must develop and implement a public information and education program designed to encourage helmet utilization by all motorcycle and moped riders.  
[PL 2005, c. 577, §33 (AMD).]
5.  Violation.  Violation of this section is a traffic infraction.  
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1993, c. 683, §A2 (NEW). PL 1993, c. 683, §B5 (AFF). PL 2005, c. 577, §33 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 50, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 55, §4 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 652, Pt. C, §5 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 51, §§1-4 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 345, §8 (AMD).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 2006–2006 · leading case: Piche v. Nugent, 436 F. Supp. 2d 193 (D. Me. 2006).
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Piche v. Nugent, 436 F. Supp. 2d 193 (D. Me. 2006). “La-prise to wear a helmet while riding on his motorcycle, see 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2083, and because the failure to wear a helmet could not give rise to liability in tort.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.