Pennsylvania does not require every motorcyclist to wear a helmet on every ride. The statute is more specific than that, and the insurance statute next to it is just as important after a crash. A rider hurt in Philadelphia can have a strong fault claim and still find that the required medical benefit other drivers take for granted was never built into the motorcycle policy.
The helmet rule is section 3525 of Title 75. The medical-benefit rule is section 1711. Neither one replaces the two-year deadline, the fault statute or the limited-tort election that apply to other crash claims.
Who must wear protective headgear
Section 3525(a) says that, except as provided in subsection (d), no person shall operate or ride upon a motorcycle or a motor-driven cycle (other than a motorized pedalcycle) unless he is wearing protective headgear which complies with standards established by the department. Subsection (b) separately requires an eye-protective device of a type approved by the department for a person operating or riding upon a motorcycle, other than a motorized pedalcycle or a three-wheeled motorcycle equipped with an enclosed cab.
Subsection (d) is the helmet exception. The headgear requirement does not apply to the operator or any occupant of a three-wheeled motorcycle equipped with an enclosed cab. It does not apply to a person 21 years of age or older who has been licensed to operate a motorcycle for not less than two full calendar years. It does not apply to a person 21 years of age or older who has completed a motorcycle rider safety course approved by the department or the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. It does not apply to the passenger of a person exempt under this subsection, if the passenger is 21 years of age or older.
Read the age and experience conditions carefully. A rider under 21 is not in those exceptions. A rider who is 21 but has been licensed for less than two full calendar years needs one of the other exceptions, such as the approved safety course, or must wear the headgear. A passenger under 21 is not exempt just because the operator is exempt.
Helmet use and fault
Whether the helmet statute applied to the rider, and whether a helmet was actually used, can be argued as part of fault under section 7102. The statute does not automatically assign a percentage for being bareheaded. It also does not say that a helmet violation wipes out a claim against a careless driver. Pennsylvania still uses the “not greater than” comparative-negligence line. Our fault guide explains that rule.
A lawyer can evaluate whether a helmet fact belongs in the case at all. This guide will not invent a percentage that the statute does not state.
The medical-benefit carve-out
Section 1711 requires a $5,000 medical benefit on most auto policies, but it expressly excepts recreational vehicles not intended for highway use, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles or motorized pedalcycles or like type vehicles. A motorcycle policy does not have to include that required medical benefit. Riders often look to health coverage, optional first-party coverages if they were purchased, or the liability claim against the other driver for medical bills.
If the rider also has a car policy in the household, the first-party questions become fact-specific. Do not assume the car policy’s medical benefit follows the motorcycle automatically. Read the policies, and our first-party benefits guide, with a lawyer if bills are already arriving.
The rest of the claim looks familiar
A motorcycle crash is still a negligence claim for purposes of the two-year period in section 5524. Limited tort under section 1705 may still apply if the rider is bound by a private passenger election, with the “serious injury” definition in section 1702 and the exceptions in section 1705(d). Occupying a vehicle other than a private passenger motor vehicle is one of those exceptions, and a motorcycle may raise that question. That is a legal issue to take to counsel, not a conclusion this page will force.
If a government vehicle was involved, the six-month statement in section 5522 still applies. If the other driver is uninsured, section 1731 still governs UM coverage. Police notice under section 3746 still applies when there is injury or a vehicle that has to be towed. Request the crash report as our report guide describes.
The first week after a motorcycle crash is the same kind of work as any other serious crash, with two extras. Confirm whether a helmet was required under section 3525(d), and find out whether any medical benefit actually exists on the cycle policy.
After a serious or fatal motorcycle crash
If the injuries include a lasting impairment of a body function, permanent serious disfigurement or death, the “serious injury” definition in section 1702 may open a noneconomic-loss claim even for a person otherwise bound by limited tort. Death claims are split into a wrongful death action and a survival action, as our wrongful death guide explains, and they still have to be commenced within two years.
Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on a family auto policy, if it was not validly declined under section 1731, can also matter when the other driver carries only the $15,000 / $30,000 financial-responsibility minimum, or nothing at all. Ask to see the rejection forms rather than relying on a memory of what was declined years ago.
Helmets, jackets and the motorcycle itself should be kept as they were after the crash, when that is practical, until a lawyer or the carrier has had a chance to review them. They are part of the factual file, just like the photographs and the officer’s signed statement.
Then calendar the deadline and, if a public vehicle was involved, the six-month notice date.