Florida Senate - 2017 SB 266
By Senator Book
32-00300-17 2017266__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to skateboard and scooter regulations;
3 providing a short title; creating s. 316.2066, F.S.;
4 requiring a child under 16 years of age to wear a
5 helmet while riding a skateboard, scooter, or other
6 similar foot-propelled wheeled vehicle; providing
7 helmet requirements and standards; authorizing a law
8 enforcement officer or school crossing guard to issue
9 a safety brochure and a verbal warning to a child
10 under a certain age for a specified violation;
11 authorizing the issuance of a citation by a law
12 enforcement officer to the child and the assessment of
13 a certain fine for a specified violation; requiring
14 the court to dismiss the charge against the child
15 under certain circumstances; prohibiting a person
16 riding a skateboard, scooter, or other similar foot
17 propelled wheeled vehicle from attaching the same or
18 himself or herself to any vehicle upon a roadway;
19 prohibiting a parent or guardian from authorizing or
20 knowingly permitting a child to violate certain
21 provisions; providing a noncriminal traffic infraction
22 for a specified violation; prohibiting a person from
23 knowingly renting or leasing a skateboard, scooter, or
24 other similar foot-propelled wheeled vehicle to be
25 ridden by a child unless specified requirements are
26 met; providing a nonmoving violation for a specified
27 violation; authorizing the court to waive, reduce, or
28 suspend payment of certain fines and to impose any
29 other conditions on the waiver, reduction, or
30 suspension; authorizing the court to require the
31 performance of community service or attendance at a
32 safety seminar under certain circumstances; providing
33 for the disposition of fines; providing for
34 construction; amending s. 318.18, F.S.; conforming
35 provisions to changes made by this act; providing an
36 effective date.
37
38 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
39
40 Section 1. This act may be cited as “Max’s Helmet Law.”
41 Section 2. Section 316.2066, Florida Statutes, is created
42 to read:
43 316.2066 Skateboards and foot-propelled scooters;
44 regulations.—
45 (1)(a) A child who is under 16 years of age must wear a
46 helmet while riding a skateboard, scooter, or other similar
47 foot-propelled wheeled vehicle, including a longboard, Penny
48 skateboard, or kick scooter. The helmet must be properly fitted
49 and fastened securely upon the child’s head by a strap and must
50 meet the federal safety standard for bicycle helmets, final
51 rule, 16 C.F.R. part 1203. A helmet purchased before October 1,
52 2017, which meets the standards of the American National
53 Standards Institute (ANSI Z 90.4 Bicycle Helmet Standards), the
54 standards of the Snell Memorial Foundation (1984 Standard for
55 Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling), or any other
56 nationally recognized standards for bicycle helmets adopted by
57 the department shall be deemed to meet the requirements of this
58 paragraph until January 1, 2021.
59 (b) A law enforcement officer or school crossing guard may
60 issue a safety brochure and a verbal warning to a child under 16
61 years of age who violates this subsection. A child under 16
62 years of age who violates this subsection may be issued a
63 citation by a law enforcement officer and assessed a fine for a
64 pedestrian violation as provided in s. 318.18. The court shall
65 dismiss the charge against a child under 16 years of age for a
66 first violation of paragraph (a) upon proof of purchase of a
67 helmet that conforms to this subsection.
68 (2)(a) A person riding a skateboard, scooter, or other
69 similar foot-propelled wheeled vehicle, including a longboard,
70 Penny skateboard, or kick scooter, may not attach the same or
71 himself or herself to any vehicle upon a roadway.
72 (b) A child’s parent or guardian may not authorize or
73 knowingly permit the child to violate this section.
74 (c) A violation of this subsection is a noncriminal traffic
75 infraction, punishable as a pedestrian violation as provided in
76 chapter 318.
77 (3)(a) A person may not knowingly rent or lease a
78 skateboard, scooter, or other similar foot-propelled wheeled
79 vehicle, including a longboard, Penny skateboard, or kick
80 scooter, to be ridden by a child who is under 16 years of age
81 unless:
82 1. The child possesses a helmet; or
83 2. The person provides a helmet for the child to wear.
84 (b) A violation of this subsection is a nonmoving
85 violation, punishable as provided in s. 318.18.
86 (4) The court may waive, reduce, or suspend payment of any
87 fine imposed under subsection (1) or subsection (3) and may
88 impose any other conditions on the waiver, reduction, or
89 suspension. If the court finds that a person does not have
90 sufficient funds to pay the fine, the court may require the
91 performance of a specified number of hours of community service
92 or attendance at a safety seminar.
93 (5) Notwithstanding s. 318.21, all proceeds collected
94 pursuant to s. 318.18 for violations under paragraphs (1)(b) and
95 (3)(b) shall be deposited into the State Transportation Trust
96 Fund.
97 (6) The failure of a child to wear a helmet, or the failure
98 of a parent or guardian to prevent a child from riding a
99 skateboard or foot-propelled scooter without wearing a helmet,
100 as required by this section, may not be considered evidence of
101 negligence or contributory negligence.
102 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
103 318.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
104 318.18 Amount of penalties.—The penalties required for a
105 noncriminal disposition pursuant to s. 318.14 or a criminal
106 offense listed in s. 318.17 are as follows:
107 (1) Fifteen dollars for:
108 (b) All infractions of ss. s. 316.2065 and 316.2066, unless
109 otherwise specified.
110 Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2017.