Motorcycle Helmets and Eye Protection
HRS 286-81 — a helmet under eighteen, and eye protection for every rider without a windshield
No one under eighteen operates or rides as a passenger on a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle on any highway without a safety helmet fastened with a chin strap.
Who handles this in Hawaii: Hawaii State Bar Association, Lawyer Referral and Information Service; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Hawaii directory.
Every operator, and every passenger they carry, on a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle without a windscreen or windshield wears safety glasses, goggles or a face shield, and any other protective device the director's rules require other than a helmet.
- A moped or motor-driven cycle leased from a rental company is ridden only with a safety helmet, which the company provides unless the rider brings one; a rider with a motorcycle license from Hawaii or another state is outside that rule.
- No helmet is required on a three-wheeled, electric motorcycle with a roll bar, roll cage or enclosed cab and seat belts or child restraints that are in use.
- No one sells or supplies protective gear represented as meeting the law unless it meets the director's specifications.
Sources for this section (1)
- HRS 286-81 — Motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, moped, etc.; protective devices
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Hawaii attorney.