Friends of Bikers of Lesser Tolerance - B.O.L.T.

New York Code: http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us

Apehangers
5. No person shall operate on a public highway a motorcycle on which
the handle bars or grips are more than the height of the operator's
shoulders.

Helmets
6. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or ride upon a
motorcycle unless he wears a protective helmet of a type which meets the
requirements set forth in section 571.218 of the federal motor vehicle
safety standards as may from time to time be amended. The commissioner
is hereby authorized and directed to adopt regulations for helmets which
are consistent with the requirements as specified in section 571.218 of
the federal motor vehicle safety standards as may from time to time be
amended.* The police authorities of a city, town or village may issue a
permit exempting members of organizations sponsoring or conducting
parades or other public exhibitions from the provisions of this
subdivision while such members are participating in such parades or
other public exhibitions.

* see note below about what can be found regarding what the commissioner says.

Goggles or face shield:
7. It shall be unlawful, on and after January first, nineteen hundred
sixty-seven, for any person to operate a motorcycle unless he wears
goggles or a face shield of a type approved by the commissioner. The
commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and amend
regulations covering types of goggles and face shields and the
specifications therefor and to establish and maintain a list of approved
goggles and face shields which meet the specifications as established
hereunder.

Sale of googles or face shields
9. It shall be unlawful to sell, offer for sale or distribute any
goggles or face shields for use by the operators of motorcycles unless
they are of a type and specification approved by the commissioner and
appear on the list of approved devices maintained by the commissioner.

Sale of helmets
9-a. It shall be unlawful to sell, offer for sale or distribute any
protective helmets for use by the operators or passengers of motorcycles
unless they are consistent with the regulations of the commissioner as
provided in subdivision six of this section and within the requirements
specified in section 571.218 of the federal motor vehicle safety
standards as may from time to time be amended.

Violation
13. A violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be
punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars or by
imprisonment for not exceeding thirty days, or by both such fine and
imprisonment.

* So, what does the commissioner have to say about helmets?
Let's take a look at the NYS DMV Motorcycle Manual. Ahah! There is no such thing as an “approved” helmet. If the DMV knew anything at all about helmets they would know this! The NYS DMV Motorcycle Manual incorrectly uses the term ”approved” rather than manufacturer self-certified:

“All motorcycle operators and passengers must wear approved motorcycle helmets as defined by USDOT federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS 218).”

The only other reference that we could find from the DMV is this interesting reference found in New York State Register, published in April 2009:
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/register/2009/apr29/pdfs/QI042909.pdf
MOTOR VEHICLES, DEPARTMENT OF
MTV-09-09-00014 Protective helmets, goggles, face shields and wind screens for motorcycles
To delete a reference to an obsolete standard for motorcycle operator protective equipment
03-04-09 Proposed

It continues to be referenced as pending
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/register/2009/sep2/pdfs/actionpending.pdf

Maybe they realize they are not even correctly pointing people to 49 CFR 571.218, making the exact standard even more difficult to find, and therefore the statute could be argued to be difficult to find.

NO LIST NO LAW
" ....the government cannot make any objective standards for helmets without taking on liability, and since they are expressly forbidden from taking on any liability, they can never make an objective standard for helmets. Without an objective standard it all becomes ad hoc and arbitrary. Ad hoc and arbitrary is the foundation of vague law. Vague law is Unconstitutional." Richard Quigley