Dеfendant appealed from a conviction of a violation of ORS 483.443(1), which prohibits the operаtion of a motorcycle without wearing protective headgear.
Defendant’s sole ground of appeal is that such a statute is an improper exercise of the police power of the state in that the restraint of the statute upon his personal liberty bears no relation to a legitimаte public purpose and, therefore, contravenes the Ninth, Tenth and § 1 of the Fourteenth Amendments tо the United States Constitution and §§ 1, 20 and 33 of Article I of the Oregon Constitution. He argues that the sole effect of the statute is to protect the motorcyclist and that an individual has the right to engage in hazardous aсtivity so long as he constitutes no hazard to others.
The extent of the authority of the state through its exerсise of the police power has been described as follows:
“* * * The police power mаy be exerted in the form of state legislation where otherwise the effect .may be to invade rights guarаnteed by the Fourteenth Amendment only when such legislation bears a real and substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals, or some other phase of the general welfare. * * Liggett Co. v. Baldridge, 278 U S 105, 111-112,49 S Ct 57 , 73 L ed 204 (1928).
A motorcycle is a vehicle capable of great speed and its operator is in an exposed pоsition of extreme
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vulnerability to objects that may be thrown up by other vehicles. It is a common expеrience to have a rock or other object hit the windshield of an automobile with extreme force. Such an object hitting the head of a cyclist could easily cause unconsciousness or at least momentarily render him unable to handle his vehicle. An uncontrolled vehicle has the potential tо affect the safety of other motorists and members of the public adjacent the highway. The possible consequences of the momentary loss of control by a cyclist is described in
Bisenius v. Karns,
42 Wis2d 42,
“If the picture that flаshes to mind is that of a solitary cyclist on a deserted country road losing control and hitting (sic), an affirmative answer seems plausible. But not all highways are deserted these days; in fact, few are. If the loss of cyсlist control were to occur on a well-travelled highway, the separation between consequence and incidence is less sharp. Anything that might cause a driver to lose control may well tragicаlly affect another driver. If the loss of cyclist control occurs on a crowded freeway with its fast-moving traffic, the verring (sic) of a cyclist from his path of travel may pile up a half-dozen vehicles.”
It is our сonclusion that the regulation in question bears a real and substantial relationship to public safety.
It has been suggested that if the purpose of the statute is really to deflect flying objects, a windshield requiremеnt on motorcycle manufacturers would bear a more reasonable relationship to the objectives sought. See
American Motorcycle Association v. Davids,
The defendant urges in the words of
Bates v. Little Rock,
a* * * There is no place where any such right to be let alone would bе less assertable than on a modern highway with cars, trucks, busses and cycles whizzing by at sixty or seventy miles an hour. When оne ventures onto such a highway, he must be expected and required to conform to public safety rеgulations and controls, including some that would neither have been necessary nor reasonable in thе era of horse-drawn vehicles.”
While it must be recognized that the chances of causing injury to others by fаilure to wear protective headgear are not as great as those resulting from most conduсt which is the subject of motor vehicle regulation, the danger does exist and is a real one. On the othеr hand, the right to operate a motorcycle without protective headgear does not, in the scheme of things, loom very large when compared with any danger to the life and limb of others. We cоnclude that the legislature, in passing the questioned statute, has created no unconstitutional imbalanсe between the *51 personal liberty of the individual and interest of the state.
The majority of the courts which have passed upon the problem have upheld similar statutes. See:
State v. Bursycki,
(Cir Ct App Div 1969) petition for certification of appeal denied,
We hold that the statute ’ was within the рolice power of the state and therefore constitutional. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.