Safety equipment and requirements for motorcyclists and motorcycles shall be as follows:
(a) No person shall operate or be a passenger on any motorcycle unless he is wearing securely fastened to his head by either a neck or chin strap a protective helmet designed to deflect blows, resist penetration and spread impact forces. Any helmet worn by a motorcycle operator or motorcycle passenger shall meet the performance specifications established by the United States of America Standards Institute, Specifications for Protective Headgear for Vehicle Users, Standard Z 90.1-1966. Helmets worn by motorcycle operators and motorcycle passengers shall be coated with a reflectorized substance, or have attached thereto a reflectorized material, on both sides and the back thereof, with a minimum of ten square inches of coated substance or attached material in each of three locations.
(b) No person shall operate or be a passenger on any motorcycle unless he is wearing safety, shatter resistant eyeglasses, excluding contact lenses, or eyegoggles or face shield that complies with the performance specifications established by the United States of American Standards Institute, Specifications for Head, Eye and Respiratory Protection Z 2.1-1959. In addition, if any motorcycle is equipped with a windshield or windscreen, the windshield or windscreen shall be constructed of safety, shatter resistant material that complies with the performance specifications established by the United States of America Standards Institute, Safety Glazing Materials for Glazing Motor Vehicles Operated on Land Highways, Standard Z 26.1-1966.
(c) No person shall operate a motorcycle on which the handlebars or grips are more than fifteen inches higher than the uppermost part of the operator's seat when the seat is not depressed in any manner.
(d) A person operating a motorcycle shall ride in a seated position facing forward and only upon a permanent operator's seat attached to the motorcycle. No operator shall carry any other person nor shall any other person ride on a motorcycle unless the motorcycle is designed to carry more than one person, in which event a passenger may ride behind the operator upon the permanent operator's seat if it is designed for two persons, or upon another seat firmly attached to the motorcycle to the rear of the operator s' seat and equipped with footrests designed and located for use by the passenger or in a sidecar firmly attached to the motorcycle. No more than two persons, the motorcycle operator and one passenger, shall ride the same motorcycle at the same time. No person shall ride sidesaddle on a motorcycle seat.
(e) Every motorcycle shall be equipped with a rearview mirror affixed to the motorcycle handlebars and adjusted so that the motorcycle operator shall have a clear view of the road and condition of traffic behind him for a distance of at least two hundred feet.
(f) Every motorcycle shall be operated as quietly as possible at all times within the City and when so operated shall be equipped with a muffler designed with baffles, resonator cylinder, and other factory-made noise reducers, and the muffler shall not be altered, changed or designed in any manner which would tend to increase the noise-producing effect above that of the manufacturer's design in the original equipment.
CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF ST. MARYS