Hello,
My name is Joshua. I was pulled over tonight on my motorcycle because I had my daughter on the back in (central) IL. She is 6 years old. She had a helmet and glasses on. She is also tall enough for her feet to touch the foot pegs. He told me that kids under 16 are not allowed on motorcycles. I referred him to your article from July 29, 2006 and he told me that that was one opinion of the law. He didn't give me a ticket, but I wanted to know if you had the state code for motorcycles that states no age restrictions in Illinois.
--I have an update of my situation. The commanding offficer agreeded with the police officer that pulled me over. I had found the state code of 625 IlCS 5/12 that states that motorcycles are exempt from saftey belts. After looking it up he agreed with that. Then he was saying that kids 8 and under couldn't ride because of the Child Saftey Restraint law. I thought that motorcycles were exempt from that law also, but I can't find where it says that. Is motorcycles exempt from that law, and if so where does it say that.
Thank you for your time,
Joshua
Hi Joshua,
As I wrote earlier, (see previous posting from July 2006) the Illinois Vehicle Code does not specifically address or prohibit children riding on motorcycles. Neither the seat belt law or the Child Passenger Safety Act currently address motorcycles. While I understand the officers point of view that there are different interpretations or opinions on the law in general, both of these sections specifically exempt motorcycles.
The seat belt law, in 625 ILCS 5/12-603.1 paragraph b 5 states that the law shall not apply to a motorcycle or motor driven cycle.
The Child Safety Protection Act specifically says in 625 ILCS 25/3 that "For the purpose of this (Act 25 Child Passenger Safety) Act, "motor vehicle" does not include motorcycles.
Illinois currently does not have any helmet law for riders of any age
The IVC does require glasses, goggles, or a transparent shield for the driver and passengers in 625 ILCS 5/1404.
The IVC also requires footrests for passengers in 625 ILCS 5/11-1405
The IVC requires in 625 ILCS that the motorcycle must be designed to carry more than one person (proper type of passenger seat).
As I stated, this is state law, please check to make sure there is not some sort of local ordinance your officers are referring to. The only state law that might otherwise apply would be Child Endangerment. (720 ILCS 5/12-21.6) That is a criminal charge, and could most likely only be used in an extreme case, not one where reasonable safety precautions are taken. Child Endangerment does not specifically mention motorcycle riding at all, however applies generally to endangering the life or health of a child under age 18.
Otherwise I do not know of any other law your local officers are referring to. Many people believe there should be laws to address children riding on motorcycles in Illinois, but at this time it is not covered.
Typically the Illinois legislature will wait until something tragic happens before they pass any laws to protect a child, so it’s no surprise that there are currently no rules regarding children on motorcycles.
Having said that, I believe Illinois should have a few rules governing this issue.
First of all a child should be required to wear a helmet until they reach adulthood and are mature enough to make a decision on weather or not to be permanently brain damaged due to a skull fracture.
Secondly children with short attention spans (five or six and under) should be forbidden to ride due to the fact that they can easily be distracted and forget to hold on. They could suddenly swat at a bug, wave at clowns standing on the roadside, or point out an attraction such as an ice-cream shop or candy store.
I cringe everytime I see a small one on the back of a motorcycle especially when they are without a helmet. That is just plain stupidity on the part of the operator and he, or she should be charged with child endangerment! Most accidents involving motorcycles are not the fault of the operator, but other circumstances beyond the operator’s control. Consequently it does not matter how good the operator is at driving his machine, stuff happens, and the child riding should be given all the protection that can be afforded.