SEWARD, Neb. (KMTV) — Sometimes it's nice to hit the open road and, for some, that means getting as close to the world around as you can while you cruise.
“Being out on highways and roads without windows. You get the smells, the wind in your face and through your hair, if you have hair. Just being able to see the scenery from a different perspective than inside of a car,” said Brian Sermeno, a motorcycle enthusiast and member of the Christian Motorcycle Association.
Brian Sermeno and the Christian Motorcycle Association are gathering in Seward this weekend for their Thunder on the Plains rally.
Dozens of bikes rolled through Seward on Friday and all of the riders on them were sporting helmets.
It's the law but that could soon be changing.
“My feelings are I wear it just because it's the law. We travel into the surrounding states around Nebraska. Most of them do not have helmet laws and there are times when we are in those other states where I choose not to wear it because it's not the law,” said Sermeno.
On Wednesday, lawmakers slipped a last-minute amendment into a bill related to the DMV that would repeal Nebraska’s helmet requirement.
Sermeno said he feels the repeal could be a good idea and riders would still wear a helmet on most occasions even if it wasn’t required.
But not every rider thinks repealing the law is a good idea.
“I come from a line of motorcycle enthusiasts. My dad, my brothers, we are motorcycle people,” said JoLynn Moesta, an avid motorcycle rider.
JoLynn has seen firsthand the difference a helmet can make during her own crash years ago.
“I hit a patch of gravel. My front wheel went right, I went left and the first thing that hit the asphalt was my face,” said Moesta.
JoLynn credits her full-face helmet with saving her life and is nervous about lawmakers looking to remove helmet requirements.
She has kept the helmet, to remind her and show others that helmets can and do save lives every day.
“It's so deeply scarred and gouged, it shows you if it would do that to a helmet, what would it do to your head and face?” said Moesta.
The earliest the law could be passed is next week, and if it does pass it will become law on January 1, 2024.
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