Iowa City students push for mo-ped helmet law

DES MOINES - “We're not trying to move mountains,” Olivia Lofgren says about a student-led effort to require young mo-ped riders to wear helmets.

However, Lofgren and other students from Iowa City and Solon ran into a mountain of opposition Wednesday when they asked lawmakers to require mo-ped riders younger than 18 to wear helmets.

Motivated by the Aug. 11 death of their best friend, Caroline Found, 17, of Iowa City, Lofgren and Leah Murray, both students at West High School, began a campaign they say could spare others from a similar tragedy.

Found died when the mo-ped she was riding crashed after striking a curb near a curve on Mormon Trek Boulevard. Found and the mo-ped struck a tree in the median. She was killed upon impact, police said.

“We're trying to make a positive out of a tragic accident,” Lofgren said.

They've been joined by other students, including Abby Ashton and Abigail Baron, both students at Solon, and Meg Moreland of Weber Elementary in Iowa City.

“We wanted to show that this isn't just one group of students, but students from other schools, too,” Ashton said.

The students, who are getting assistance from Solon government teacher Lauren Cannon and Iowa City attorney Joe Moreland, say they initially received positive feedback from legislators.

But they received a lesson in political reality at the Statehouse on Wednesday. Lawmakers told the students winning approval of a helmet law - even limited to riders younger than 18 - would not happen.

Iowa is one of three states without some form of helmet law, and Mark Maxwell of Des Moines intends to keep it that way.

“Look, the first thing is nobody has ever reduced the number of crashes by passing a helmet law,” said Maxwell, who is a lobbyist for ABATE of Iowa and the Iowa Motorcycle Dealers' Association.

The problem with the students' proposal is that “an 18-and-under law is just an amendment or a word change from a full-blown helmet law for everybody,” he said.

“I applaud them by what they are trying to do, but I'm concerned they think it's OK to take away people's rights,” Maxwell said. Requiring a teenager to wear a helmet is part of parental responsibility “and we don't think government ought to be raising our children,” he said.

Reps. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, and Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, who met with the students, suggested they refocus their efforts on improving education for mo-ped riders. There is a consensus those classes don't meet riders' needs.

Maxwell agrees and offered to work with the students. He sees three basic problems with the classes: no standardized curriculum; no annual updates; and no certification. Maxwell also thinks the class should involve mo-ped riding, not just classroom training.

“That's another great option,” Lofgren said, but she's not willing to give up on the helmet law.

The students said they would make a decision today on how they want to proceed - push for a helmet law or attack the education component.

“Every other state has fought this battle, so our main goal is the helmet law whether it's this year or 10 years from now,” Lofgren said.