Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. The second paragraph of section 11B of chapter 85 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1988 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out clause (2) and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-

(2) The operator shall not ride other than upon or astride a permanent and regular seat attached to the bicycle. The operator shall not carry another person on said bicycle, except on a "baby seat", so called, attached to the bicycle in which such other person shall be able to sit upright; provided, however, that such seat is equipped with a harness to hold such other person securely in the seat and that protection is provided against the feet of such other person hitting the spokes of the wheel of the bicycle; and provided, further, that any such passenger between the ages of one year to four years, inclusive, shall wear a helmet. Said helmet shall fit the person's head and be equipped with straps to secure it in place and shall meet the standard for helmets of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z 90.4) or the Snell Memorial Foundation's 1984 Standard for Protective Headgear for use in bicycling. The operator shall not carry any person under the age of one year on said bicycle.

SECTION 2. Said chapter 85 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 11C, as so appearing, the following section:-

Section 11D. Every person engaged in the retail business of selling or renting bicycles shall display in an area conspicuous to customers of such business a sign containing the following statement: "It is highly recommended that a bicycle helmet be worn while riding a bicycle.".