Best Missouri Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
Missouri motorcycle accident victims are fortunate that THE Motorcycle Lawyer ^sm, Jason Waechter, is on your side. We are the motorcycle law firm that has perhaps represented more motorcycle accident clients than any other firm in Missouri. Jason Waechter is nationally known as THE Motorcycle Lawyer ^sm  

 

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Before heading out, you should be familiar with Missouri’s laws. Jason Waechter is nationally known as THE Motorcycle Lawyer ^sm  and provides you with up to date information on Missouri’s motorcycle laws.

 

 

Missouri Motorcycle Helmet Law
Missouri’s new motorcycle helmet law went into effect on August 28, 2020. Now, all motorcyclists over the age of 26 can ride without wearing a helmet. However, to do this legally you must have proper motorcycle insurance along with proof of financial responsibility. If you are a rider or have a learner’s permit, you must still wear a helmet.

 

House Bill 1963

 

MOTORCYCLE HELMET LAW (Sections 302.020 and 302.026) 
Currently, every person operating or riding a motorcycle or motortricycle is required to wear protective headgear (Sections 302.020 and 302.026). This bill provides that persons under the age of 26 who are operating or riding as a passenger on a motorcycle or motortricycle shall wear a helmet when the vehicle is in motion. Similarly, a person who is 26 or older, operating a motorcycle or motortricycle, and who has been issued an instruction permit shall wear a helmet when the vehicle is in motion. No political subdivision of the state shall impose a protective headgear requirement on the operator or passenger of a motorcycle or motortricycle. No person shall be stopped, inspected, or detained solely to determine compliance with these provisions (Section 302.020.2).

The bill also provides that qualified operators who are 26 or older may operate a motorcycle or motortricycle without a helmet if he or she is covered by a health insurance policy or other form of insurance which will provide the person with medical benefits for injuries incurred as a result of a motorcycle or motortricycle accident. Proof of such coverage shall be provided on request of law enforcement by showing a copy of the qualified operator's insurance card. No person shall be stopped, inspected, or detained solely to determine compliance with these provisions.

 

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Penalties

Failing to follow Missouri’s helmet laws is a misdemeanor. The penalty is a maximum of $25 fine.

 

Missouri Motorcycle License Requirements 

You must have a Class M motorcycle license or permit to operate a motorcycle in Missouri. A driver’s license with a Class M endorsement is also acceptable.

If you are 15 ½ years old, you need to complete a motorcycle rider training course (MRTC) before applying for a temporary permit. Your parents or guardian must also provide consent for the temporary permit.

Once you have passed the course and have the written consent from your parents or guardians, you need to pass the Class M and Class F written, vision, and road sign test.

If you are under the age of 16 and have a motorcycle permit, there are restrictions you need to follow. These restrictions include:

• Only drive during daylight 
• No passengers
• Cannot go beyond 50 miles from your home address
• Engine displacement no greater than 250cc

Once you reach 16 years of age, you can apply for a temporary motorcycle instruction permit. You need to pass the Class M written test, but you do not have to take the motorcycle rider training course. If you do not have a driver's license, you need to take the Class M and Class F written tests to get your permit.

If you have an instruction permit in Missouri, you are restricted to the following:

• No passengers
• Driving during daylight only

 

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Statute

2005 Missouri Revised Statutes - § 302.020. — Operation of motor vehicle without proper license prohibited, penalty --motorcycles--special license--protective headgear, failure to wear, fine, amount--no points to be assessed.

1. Unless otherwise provided for by law, it shall be unlawful for any person, except those expressly exempted by section 302.080, to:
(1) Operate any vehicle upon any highway in this state unless the person has a valid license;
(2) Operate a motorcycle or motortricycle upon any highway of this state unless such person has a valid license that shows the person has successfully passed an examination for the operation of a motorcycle or motortricycle as prescribed by the director. The director may indicate such upon a valid license issued to such person, or shall issue a license restricting the applicant to the operation of a motorcycle or motortricycle if the actual demonstration, required by section 302.173, is conducted on such vehicle;

 

 

Penalties

Driving without the proper license is a class A misdemeanor. If you are convicted of driving without the proper license again, it is a class D felony.

 

 

Mandatory Insurance

Missouri requires all motorcyclists to have certain insurance. You need to have:

• Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UIM)
• $10,000 Property damage
• $50,000 Bodily injury for all persons
• $25,000 Bodily injury for one person

 

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Statute 

303.026.  Director to notify owners who register vehicles, contents — affidavit certifying financial responsibility required for registration

1.  The director shall inform each owner who registers a motor vehicle of the following:
(1)  The existence of the requirement that every motor vehicle owner in the state must maintain his financial responsibility; 

(2)  The requirement that every motor vehicle owner show an insurance identification card, or a copy thereof, or other proof of financial responsibility at the time of vehicle registration; this notice shall be given at least thirty days prior to the month for renewal and shall be shown in bold, colored print;

(3)  The penalties which apply to violations of the requirement to maintain financial responsibility;

(4)  The benefits of maintaining coverages in excess of those which are required;

(5)  The director's authority to conduct samples of Missouri motor vehicle owners to ensure compliance.

 

 

Penalties

If you do not have the proper insurance, your license and/or driving privileges could be suspended. The following are situations, penalties, and fees for not having the right insurance:

• No previous record of violation — a reinstatement fee of $20 and must submit proof of insurance.
• One prior violation within the past two years — license will be suspended for 90 days, a reinstatement fee of $200, and must submit proof of insurance.
• Two or more prior violations — license will be suspended for one year, a reinstatement fee of $400, and must submit proof of insurance.

 

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Motorcycle Equipment Specifications

Like most other states, Missouri requires motorcycle equipment to meet certain requirements. Your exhaust system, tires, brakes, taillight, turn signals, and wheels must be working properly. Turn signals are not required by law, but if you do not have turn signals you must use hand signals to notify other vehicles of your actions.

If you are under 21 and are a passenger or operator, you must wear a DOT-approved crash helmet. The handlebars on your motorcycle cannot be higher than 30 inches from the saddle to the highest point of the handle grip.

Do not ride with more than one passenger on a motorcycle. If you do have a passenger, they need their own seat and footrest. Furthermore, you cannot put a small child between two adults on a motorcycle. 

Motorcycles in the state of Missouri need a safety inspection five years after the date of their manufacture, starting January 2010. For example, if you have a 2007 model, your motorcycle will not need a safety inspection until 2013. This includes any change in motorcycle ownership.

If your motorcycle is older than six years, then you need to have a safety inspection every two years. Typically, even year models receive a safety inspection in even years and odd year models receive a safety inspection in odd years. However, if your model is an even-year model, and your registration is up in an odd year, then your inspection is good for only one year.

 

 

Motorcycle Moving Violations

Lane splitting is not explicitly allowed in Missouri but is not explicitly prohibited either. Lane splitting happens when a motorcyclist rides between the two lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction. On the other hand, lane sharing is acceptable in Missouri. It is different from lane splitting because motorcyclists ride next to each other in the same lane.

Common moving violations in Missouri include:

• Running a red light
• No driver’s license
• Driving on an expired license
• Hit and run
• Reckless driving
• Speeding
• Careless driving
• Failure to yield right-of-way
• No brake lights
• DUI/DWI
• Failure to maintain a single lane

 

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Speeding

Driving five miles per hour or more than the speed limit can get you three points on your license. If you get a total of four points within a one-year time period, you will receive a point accumulation advisory letter. If you get a total of eight or more points in a year and a half, your driving privileges will be suspended.

 

 

Statute

304.010.  Definitions — maximum speed limits — cities, towns, villages, certain counties, may set speed limit, how set — slower speeds set, when — violations, penalty.
2.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, the uniform maximum speed limits are and no vehicle shall be operated in excess of the speed limits established pursuant to this section:
(1)  Upon the rural interstates and freeways of this state, seventy miles per hour;
(2)  Upon the rural expressways of this state, sixty-five miles per hour;
(3)  Upon the interstate highways, freeways or expressways within the urbanized areas of this state, sixty miles per hour;
(4)  All other roads and highways in this state not located in an urbanized area and not provided for in subdivisions (1) to (3) of this subsection, sixty miles per hour;
(5)  All other roads provided for in subdivision (4) of this subsection shall not include any state two-lane road which is identified by letter.  Such lettered roads shall not exceed fifty-five miles per hour unless set at a higher speed as established by the department of transportation, except that no speed limit shall be set higher than sixty miles per hour;
(6)  For the purposes of enforcing the speed limit laws of this state, it is a rebuttable presumption that the posted speed limit is the legal speed limit.

 

 

Penalties

The following are the length of suspension based on the number of violation it is:

• First suspension — 30 days
• Second suspension — 60 days
• Third or more suspensions — 90 days

 

Your license will be revoked if you accumulate the following:

• 12 points or more in 12 months
• 18 points or more in 24 months
• 24 points or more in 36 months

 

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Once your license is reinstated, your point total reduces to four. Every year you don’t have any more points added to your license, your points are reduced. The reduction in points is the following:

• One year — total points reduced by ⅓
• Two years — points reduced by ½
• Three years — points down to zero

 

Reckless Driving - Careless and Imprudent Driving
Missouri has ‘careless and imprudent driving,’ which is similar to reckless driving in other states. To avoid a careless and imprudent driving charge, you must:

• “Exercise the highest degree of care”
• Drive the proper speed so as not to endanger other people or property
• Drive in a “careful and prudent manner”

 

Basically, if you are driving in an unsafe manner, you could be charged with careless and imprudent driving. 

 

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Statute

304.012.  Motorists to exercise highest degree of care — violation, penalty.

1.  Every person operating a motor vehicle on the roads and highways of this state shall drive the vehicle in a careful and prudent manner and at a rate of speed so as not to endanger the property of another or the life or limb of any person and shall exercise the highest degree of care.

2.  Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a class B misdemeanor, unless an accident is involved then it shall be a class A misdemeanor.

 

 

Penalties

Careless and imprudent driving is a Class B misdemeanor. If you are convicted, you face up to six months in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.

If you are involved in an accident and have a careless and imprudent driving offense, it rises to a Class A misdemeanor. A conviction means you could spend up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,000.

In addition to jail time and fines, you will get four points on your license. 

 

 

Manslaughter

There are two degrees of manslaughter in Missouri, first-degree and second-degree. 

First-degree involuntary manslaughter is when you act recklessly and kill another person. Acting recklessly means knowingly doing something, or failing to do something, that creates a substantial risk to other drivers. For example, when you grossly deviate from what reasonable people would do under similar circumstances, get in a car accident, and kill someone, then you could be charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

The prosecutor must prove all the following for a vehicular manslaughter conviction:

• You drove while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs - or that you were texting
• You accidentally killed another person because of the actions while you were driving
• Your actions are considered criminal negligence, which means you acted with reckless or careless disregard for human life

 

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Statute

565.024.  Involuntary manslaughter, first degree, penalty.

1.  A person commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the 
first degree if he or she recklessly causes the death of another person.

2.  The offense of involuntary manslaughter in the first degree is a class C felony, unless the victim is intentionally targeted as a law enforcement officer, as defined in section 556.061, or the victim is targeted because he or she is a relative within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity to a law enforcement officer, in which case it is a class B felony.

 

Second-degree manslaughter is when another motorist is killed because the driver of a vehicle operated in a “criminally negligent” way. If you unknowingly do something that creates a substantial risk to others, or the action amounts to a “gross deviation” from what a reasonable person would do, then you could be convicted of second-degree manslaughter.

 

 

Statute

2005 Missouri Revised Statutes - § 565.021. — Second degree murder, penalty

1. A person commits the crime of murder in the second degree if he:
(1) Knowingly causes the death of another person or, with the purpose of causing serious physical injury to another person, causes the death of another person; or
(2) Commits or attempts to commit any felony, and, in the perpetration or the attempted perpetration of such felony or in the flight from the perpetration or attempted perpetration of such felony, another person is killed as a result of the perpetration or attempted perpetration of such felony or immediate flight from the perpetration of such felony or attempted perpetration of such felony.
2. Murder in the second degree is a class A felony, and the punishment for second degree murder shall be in addition to the punishment for commission of a related felony or attempted felony, other than murder or manslaughter.
3. Notwithstanding section 556.046, RSMo, and section 565.025, in any charge of murder in the second degree, the jury shall be instructed on, or, in a jury-waived trial, the judge shall consider, any and all of the subdivisions in subsection 1 of this section which are supported by the evidence and requested by one of the parties or the court.

 

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Penalties

Penalties for first-degree involuntary manslaughter Class B include a maximum of $5,000 fine and five to 15 years in prison. 

However, the conviction may rise to a Class A if you kill more than one person, kill someone other than a passenger in your vehicle, or your blood alcohol content was 0.18 or higher. The penalty for a Class A conviction is prison from 10 to 30 years. You must serve at least 85 percent before you can be eligible for parole.

 

 

Get Started Now: Call THE Motorcycle Lawyer ℠ 

If you or a loved one has been in a Missouri motorcycle accident we can help. Attorney Jason A. Waechter is nationally known. From handling many Missouri motorcycle cases for injured bikers and their families, we have specialized knowledge of the law and defenses that are unique to motorcycle cases. 

 

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“I Ride, I Get It,” 

Riding has helped Waechter defend against the prejudice and finger-pointing bikers often endure after a crash. Attorney Jason Waechter literally “wrote the book.” He is the author of the nationally used textbook for lawyers — Litigating Motorcycle Injury & Wrongful Death Cases.

If you are injured in a motorcycle wreck, put a specializing team on your side.
Our No-Win-No-Fee Promise means with our law firm there is never a fee unless we collect money damages for you.

 

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