Motorcycle helmet and lane-splitting laws in Hawaii

Hawaii's rules for motorcyclists are not what most riders assume. The state has no all-ages helmet mandate, lane-splitting is flatly illegal, and, in a twist that catches injured riders off guard, the no-fault insurance that pays a car occupant's first medical bills usually will not pay yours. Here is what the statutes actually say, and what each rule means if a car hits you.

Only riders under 18 have to wear a helmet

Hawaii is a partial-helmet state. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 286-81(e), no person under 18 may operate or ride as a passenger on a motorcycle or motor scooter on a public highway unless they wear "a safety helmet securely fastened with a chin strap."¹ Adults, 18 and older, may legally ride bareheaded. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety lists Hawaii's helmet coverage as riders "17 and younger."²

One equipment rule applies to every rider, whatever their age: eye protection. Section 286-81(a) requires safety glasses, goggles, or a face shield unless the motorcycle has a windscreen or windshield.¹ Hawaii's Department of Transportation states it plainly, if you are not behind a windscreen, you still need eye protection.³

Skipping a helmet is legal for adults, but the physics are not on your side. NHTSA estimates helmets are 37 percent effective at preventing death for riders and 41 percent for passengers, and 2023 brought 6,335 motorcyclist deaths nationwide, the most in any year since the agency began keeping fatal-crash records in 1975.⁴ A helmet you are not required to wear can still be the difference between a claim and a fatality.

Lane-splitting and lane-sharing are illegal

There is no legal lane-splitting anywhere in Hawaii. Section 291C-153 first gives a motorcycle the full use of a lane: no car "shall be driven in such a manner as to deprive any motorcycle of the full use of a lane."⁵ Then it sets the limits. The same statute bars a rider from operating "between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles," which is lane-splitting, and from overtaking and passing another vehicle within the single lane that vehicle occupies.⁵ It also caps lane-sharing at two: no more than two motorcycles abreast in one lane, and the full-lane protection does not extend to bikes riding two abreast.⁵

Hawaii's DOT answers the two questions riders ask most, can you split lanes and can you ride two abreast, with a flat "no."³ No current Hawaii law authorizes lane-splitting or lane-filtering, so on every road in the state, crossing the line to slip between stopped cars is a traffic violation. That matters more than a ticket if you are later hurt, for reasons the fault rules make clear below.

The insurance rule that surprises injured riders

This is the part that catches Hawaii motorcyclists off guard. Hawaii is a no-fault state: every registered car carries personal injury protection, or PIP, which pays the occupants' medical bills regardless of who caused the crash. Motorcycles are carved out of it. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 431:10C-304(1), injury to or death of the operator or passenger of a motorcycle or motor scooter arising out of a motor vehicle accident is not covered by no-fault benefits "unless expressly provided for in the motor vehicle policy."⁶

In plain terms, a car's PIP will not automatically pay your bills the way it pays a driver's. Whether you have first-dollar coverage depends on whether you bought motorcycle-specific coverage before the crash. That makes two other coverages worth checking now. The first is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage: Hawaii insurers must offer UM/UIM up to your bodily injury limits, but you can reject it in writing, so plenty of riders carry none without realizing it.⁷ The second is the at-fault driver's liability limit. As of January 1, 2026, Hawaii's minimums rose to 40/80/20, meaning $40,000 per person and $80,000 per crash for bodily injury and $20,000 for property damage, up from the old 20/40/10, under Act 138.⁷ On a serious motorcycle injury, even the higher minimums run out fast.

When PIP does apply to a covered claim, the insurer has to pay or deny it within 30 days of receiving reasonable proof of loss, and late payments carry interest at 1.5 percent a month.⁶

How the helmet and lane rules affect your claim

Hawaii follows modified comparative negligence. Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 663-31, you can still recover if you were partly at fault, but your award is reduced by your share of the blame, and you are barred completely once your fault is greater than the other party's, the 51 percent rule.⁸ This is where the helmet and lane rules re-enter the story. If you were lane-splitting when a car clipped you, or an under-18 rider was not wearing the required helmet, the other side will argue those violations shift part of the fault onto you. It does not automatically sink the case, though it can shrink what you collect.

There is also a threshold to clear before you can sue the other driver for pain and suffering. Section 431:10C-306 lets you step outside no-fault only for death, significant permanent loss of a body part or function, permanent serious disfigurement, or once your paid or payable PIP benefits reach $5,000.⁹ Serious motorcycle injuries usually clear that bar without much trouble.

Deadlines and the crash report

You have two years. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-7 gives you two years from the date of the crash to file suit, and the same window covers both your injuries and your vehicle damage.¹⁰ Miss it and the claim is gone, however clear the other driver's fault.

Hawaii has no state highway patrol, so your crash report comes from the county police department where the wreck happened, Honolulu PD on Oahu, or the Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai police departments.¹¹ You can see how to request yours on our Hawaii crash report page. If your bike still lost resale value after repairs, that is a separate diminished value claim in Hawaii. And when injuries are serious or an insurer is stalling on the motorcycle carve-out, a Hawaii attorney who handles motorcycle crashes can push the claim past the no-fault threshold and toward the right coverage.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 286-81, Operation of motorcycles and motor scooters. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol05_Ch0261-0319/HRS0286/HRS_0286-0081.htm

2. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Motorcycle helmet use laws. https://www.iihs.org/topics/motorcycles/motorcycle-helmet-laws-table

3. Hawaii Department of Transportation, Motorcycles, Motor Scooters and Mopeds FAQs. https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/motorcycles-motor-scooters-and-mopeds-faqs/

4. NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts, Motorcycles: 2023 Data (DOT HS 813 732). https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813732.pdf

5. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 291C-153, Operating motorcycles and mopeds on roadways laned for traffic. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol05_Ch0261-0319/HRS0291C/HRS_0291C-0153.htm

6. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 431:10C-304, Obligation to pay personal injury protection benefits. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol09_Ch0431-0435H/HRS0431/HRS_0431-0010C-0304.htm

7. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 431:10C-301, Required motor vehicle policy coverage (as amended by 2024 Act 138). https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol09_Ch0431-0435H/HRS0431/HRS_0431-0010C-0301.htm

8. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 663-31, Contributory negligence no bar; comparative negligence. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol13_Ch0601-0676/HRS0663/HRS_0663-0031.htm

9. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 431:10C-306, Abolition of tort liability. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol09_Ch0431-0435H/HRS0431/HRS_0431-0010C-0306.htm

10. Hawaii Revised Statutes § 657-7, Damage to persons or property. https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol13_Ch0601-0676/HRS0657/HRS_0657-0007.htm

11. Honolulu Police Department, Police Reports. https://www.honolulupd.org/police-reports/