A man rides a Bird dockless electric scooter along Fifth Street in April 2018. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

Brown exempts adults from wearing helmets on scooters

Adults won’t need to wear helmets while riding electric scooters on city streets, thanks to a bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed on Wednesday.

The proposal, Assembly Bill 2989 from Assemblyman Heath Flora, R-Ripon, with support from Bird, one of the state’s leading e-scooter rental companies, also permits scooters to be on streets with a speed limit up to 35 mph. Current law bans scooters on streets with speed limits above 25 mph.

Brown signed a different helmet-related bill on Tuesday. Assembly Bill 3077 allows people under 18 cited for not wearing a bike helmet to correct the violation within four months by attending a bicycle safety course and proving they have a helmet that now fits them.

Both measures go into effect Jan. 1

-By Bryan Anderson, The Sacramento BeeCalifornia

If you find our journalism valuable and relevant, please consider joining our Examiner membership program.
Find out more at www.sfexaminer.com/join/
Previous story
Kavanaugh, accuser slated to testify; Dems say more witnesses needed
Next story
Benicia man arrested, linked to rapes in six Northern California counties

Just Posted

The admissions process at the academically competitive Lowell High School is set to change this year due to coronavirus restritions. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)
Lowell’s selective admissions process put on hold this year — and more changes may be in the works

School board votes unanimously to use normal student assignment lottery for competitive school

Dr. Vincent Matthews, superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, said Tuesday that student would not be back in school before the end of this calendar year. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)
Superintendent: City schools will not reopen before the end of the year

San Francisco public schools won’t reopen to students for the rest of… Continue reading

San Francisco will allow bars selling drinks, and not food, to begin serving customers outdoors under health guidelines going into effect next month. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)
SF becomes first Bay Area County to move to least restrictive COVID-19 category

Change to ‘yellow’ will allow more indoor dining and fitness, reopening non-essential offices

City officials want to install more red light cameras but the process is costly and time consuming. (Shutterstock)
Transit officials push for more red light cameras

SFMTA says ‘capital crunch’ and dragging timelines make expanding the program cumbersome

Police release an image a cracked windshield on a Prius that Cesar Vargas allegedly tried to carjack. Vargas, who was shot by police a short time later, can be seen in videos jumping on the windshield and pushing a Muni passenger who disembarked from a bus. (Courtesy SFPD
SFPD releases videos of deadly police shooting

Cesar Vargas killed after reports of carjacking with knife

Most Read