NEW road safety laws will come into effect in one US state soon that require certain motorists to wear protective clothing.
The fresh legislation will come into effect on October 1.
Previously, this law only applied to under 18s[/caption]
Those found in violation of the rules can end up receiving a $90 fine[/caption]
Anyone in Connecticut with a motorbike and is under the age of 21 will be required to wear a helmet while riding.
Previously, this law only applied to under 18s, but the age cut-off is now being raised amid concerns for the safety of younger motorists.
Those found in violation of the rules can end up receiving a $90 fine.
Eric Jackson, the executive director of the Connecticut Transportation Institute, told NBC that motorbike crashes and fatalities are more common among new motorists.
He said: One of the things that Connecticut is doing very strong is, they’ve upped the enforcement that’s out on the roadways so you’re seeing, more traffic stops that are occurring.
“You’re seeing more police presence.
“There’s more education coming out of the Connecticut DOT in terms of ways to be safe out on the roadways, educating the traveling public on trends we’re seeing within traffic crashes.”
RULES AROUND E-BIKES
These new regulations will also apply to certain electronic bikes.
Any e-bike without pedals and with batteries over 750 watts will be classed as a motorbike for the purposes of this law.
E-bikes of more than 3,500 watts are set to require registration and insurance, in the same way motorcycles do.
Zachary Cornwall, store manager of Trek Bicycle Newington, told NBC: “For us, we’ve already been adhering to those kind of regulations and standards for a while now.”
Their e-bikes, known as class 1, 2 and 3 bikes, are not affected by the law.
He added: “We’re a bike company.
“Anything we feel like is kind of beyond that is not really a bike.”
