Motorcycle Helmet & Lane-Splitting Laws in Maine

Maine requires helmets for only four groups of riders and bans lane-splitting outright. Here's what the statutes say, and how helmet use and lane position can change what you recover after a crash.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jun 2, 2026
6 min read

Motorcycle helmet and lane-splitting laws in Maine

Maine's helmet law is partial. It reaches four specific groups of riders and leaves most adults free to ride bareheaded if they choose. Lane-splitting is the opposite: illegal everywhere in the state, no exceptions. Those two questions come up most after a crash here, and both hide details that trip up experienced riders.

This page stays on Maine ground: the exact statutes, who they cover, the numbers, and how they can change what you recover if you were hurt. The broader concepts live on the national hub.

Who has to wear a helmet in Maine

Under 29-A M.R.S. §2083, protective headgear is required for four groups: any operator under 18, any passenger under 18, any operator riding on a learner's permit or within one year of passing the road test, and any passenger riding with an operator who is required to wear a helmet.1 The federal survey of state laws classifies Maine as a partial-helmet state for exactly this reason.2

The one-year rule is the surprise. A 45-year-old who just earned a motorcycle endorsement has to wear a helmet for a full year after passing the test, even though age alone would not require it.1 If that rider must wear one, so must the passenger on the back.1

The helmet also has to meet a standard. Section 2083 requires headgear satisfying American National Standards Institute specification Z90.1 or Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218, the DOT standard stamped on compliant helmets.1 The rule does not apply to autocycles, and a violation is a traffic infraction.1

Maine does not require eye protection. No statute mandates goggles, glasses, or a face shield for riders of any age, and the federal survey lists Maine's eye-protection requirement as none.2 The bike does not need a windshield either.

Lane-splitting is illegal in Maine

Riding a motorcycle between two lanes of moving or stopped traffic is against the law statewide. 29-A M.R.S. §2062(6) says a person "may not operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles."3 That reaches both splitting past cars at speed and filtering to the front of a line at a red light. Maine has never written in the kind of exception California passed.

The trade-off is that a motorcycle is entitled to the whole lane. Section 2062(4)(A) lets an operator fully use a lane, and §2062(4)(C) says a car "may not be driven in such a manner as to deprive a motorcycle of the full use of a lane."3 A driver who squeezes a rider out of position is the one breaking the rule.

Two riders may share a lane side by side. Section 2062(4)(B) allows up to two motorcycles abreast in one lane and prohibits three or more across.3 The same statute bans a handful of other moves: passing another vehicle inside the occupied lane (§2062(5)) and lifting the front wheel off the pavement on a public way (§2062(7)).3 It also requires the headlight to be on whenever the bike is running and caps handlebar height at the operator's shoulder.3

Licensing and the rider course

You cannot ride on a car license in Maine. Operating a motorcycle requires a motorcycle endorsement from the Secretary of State.4 Before that endorsement, learner's permit, or license can be issued, the applicant has to present a certificate showing they finished an approved motorcycle rider education course and passed the exam.5 Riding without the endorsement is its own violation, and it can become a fault question if you are hurt in a crash later.

What the helmet rule means if you're hurt

This is where Maine's partial helmet law matters most. The state follows modified comparative negligence with a 50 percent bar: your damages fall by your share of fault, and if you are more than 50 percent responsible you recover nothing.6

Even though most adult riders are not required to wear a helmet, riding without one can still cut a recovery. In a Maine case involving a rider thrown from an all-terrain vehicle, the federal appeals court allowed evidence that he had not worn a helmet and held it could reduce his damages for a head injury under the doctrine of avoidable consequences.7 The same comparative-fault reasoning reaches motorcycle claims. The limit on the defense is proof: it has to show with real evidence that a helmet would have prevented or lessened the specific injury, and if you would have been hurt just as badly either way, that argument should fail.7

Lane position works the same way. If you were riding between rows of cars when a driver hit you, you were violating §2062(6), and that fault gets weighed against you.3 Depending on how the crash unfolded, it can shrink your award or, past the 50 percent line, end the claim.6

Insurance, deadlines, and paperwork after a Maine crash

Maine is an at-fault state, so the driver who caused the crash and their insurer pay for the harm.8 A few numbers matter before you talk to an adjuster.

You generally have six years to file an injury lawsuit from a motorcycle crash under 14 M.R.S. §752, one of the longest windows in the country.9 That is not a reason to wait; physical evidence and witness memories fade long before the deadline runs.

Every Maine auto policy carries liability minimums of 50/100/25: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage.10 Policies also include at least $2,000 in medical payments coverage per person for costs within a year of the crash, and that coverage cannot be rejected on a standard policy.11 Unless the policyholder signed a written rejection, the policy also carries uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matching the liability limits, and it can never drop below 50/100.12 For a motorcyclist hit by a driver carrying bare minimums, that UM/UIM coverage is often what actually pays the medical bills.

If someone died in the crash, Maine treats those damages separately. Loss of comfort, society, and companionship is capped at $1,000,000, and punitive damages at $500,000, under 18-C M.R.S. §2-807.13 Ordinary injury claims have no cap on compensatory damages.

You will need the official crash report for any injury claim. In Maine those come from the State Police through the Maine Crash Reporting Online Search and Ordering Service; our Maine crash reports page walks through how to pull yours.14 If your bike is worth less after a repair than it was before, that lost value is its own claim, covered on our Maine diminished value guide. And when fault is contested or the injuries are serious, talk to a lawyer; you can start with our legal directory.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. Maine Revised Statutes, 29-A M.R.S. §2083 (Protective headgear). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec2083.html

  2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Summary Chart of Key Provisions of State Motorcycle Safety Laws. https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/811459.pdf

  3. Maine Revised Statutes, 29-A M.R.S. §2062 (Operating motorcycles). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec2062.html

  4. Maine Revised Statutes, 29-A M.R.S. §1254 (Special licenses). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec1254.html

  5. Maine Revised Statutes, 29-A M.R.S. §1352 (Motorcycle rider education). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec1352.html

  6. Maine Revised Statutes, 14 M.R.S. §156 (Comparative negligence). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec156.html

  7. Rodgers v. American Honda Motor Co., 46 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 1995). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/46/1/591691/

  8. Maine Bureau of Insurance, A Consumer's Guide to Personal Auto Insurance. https://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance/sites/maine.gov.pfr.insurance/files/inline-files/12.6.24Consumers%20Guide%20to%20Personal%20Auto%20Insurance.pdf

  9. Maine Revised Statutes, 14 M.R.S. §752 (Six-year limitation). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/14/title14sec752.html

  10. Maine Revised Statutes, 29-A M.R.S. §1605 (Financial responsibility requirement). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec1605.html

  11. Maine Revised Statutes, 29-A M.R.S. §1605-A (Medical payments coverage). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec1605-A.html

  12. Maine Revised Statutes, 24-A M.R.S. §2902 (Uninsured vehicle coverage). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/24-a/title24-Asec2902.html

  13. Maine Revised Statutes, 18-C M.R.S. §2-807 (Wrongful death). https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/18-C/title18-Csec2-807.html

  14. Maine Crash Reporting Online Search and Ordering Service, Maine State Police. https://apps1.web.maine.gov/online/mcrs/index.html

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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