Senator Luann Ridgeway: Patron Saint of Missouri Motorcyclists

If Governor Jay Nixon signs Senate Bill 202 into law, Missouri motorcyclists over 21years of age will no longer be bound by law to wear helmets when they ride, except on state highways. Cyclists who love the feel of the wind in their hair (and hate to have government regulations weighing on their handlebars) have Clay County Republican Sen. Luann Ridgeway to thank if the helmet law dies at Nixon’s hands this month.

Ridgeway says that she’s been trying to bury Missouri’s helmet law since shortly after her freshman year, in 1992. Organizations of cyclists who chafe against the idea of helmet laws, like the Freedom of Road Riders, lobbied Ridgeway enthusiastically, and while she initially thought a helmet law made common sense, the FORR was able to sway her views.