Motorcycle helmet and lane-splitting laws in Minnesota

Minnesota rewrote how motorcycles move through traffic on July 1, 2025, and it is still one of the states that lets most adult riders decide for themselves whether to put on a helmet. Two of the questions riders ask most often, "Do I have to wear a helmet?" and "Can I split lanes?", both have Minnesota answers that either changed recently or differ from what you might assume. Here is what the state's statutes and its Department of Public Safety actually say.

The stakes are real. In 2023, 65 motorcyclists were killed on Minnesota roads.¹ That was down from 82 the year before, the deadliest year for riders in the state since 1985.¹ Of the 65 who died in 2023, 41 were not wearing a helmet, and 17 of the fatal crashes involved excessive speed, in one case more than 70 mph over the posted limit.¹

Who has to wear a helmet

Minnesota is a partial-helmet state. Under Minn. Stat. § 169.974, subd. 4, no one under the age of 18 may operate or ride a motorcycle on Minnesota streets and highways without protective headgear that meets the standards set by the commissioner of public safety.² In practice that means a helmet certified to the U.S. Department of Transportation standard.³ Riders who are 18 or older are not legally required to wear one.³

There is one way an adult still has to. Anyone operating on a two-wheeled vehicle instruction permit must wear protective headgear regardless of age, and that permit also bars carrying passengers and riding at night.⁴ So a 40-year-old learning to ride on a permit is held to the same headgear rule as a 16-year-old.

Riding bareheaded is legal for adults, but it shows up in the injury data. More than 6 in 10 of the riders killed in 2023 had no helmet on.¹ Minnesota has watched that number for decades. A record 121 rider deaths in 1980 pushed the Legislature to create the state motorcycle safety program in 1982.⁵

Eye protection and equipment the law still requires

Helmets are optional for adults. Eye protection is not. Minn. Stat. § 169.974, subd. 4 requires the operator to wear an eye-protective device, and the state reads that to mean a face shield, goggles, or glasses.² A windshield by itself does not satisfy the requirement.³

A couple of other equipment rules apply every time you ride. The headlight has to be on at all times, day or night.³ If the bike has a passenger seat, it must also have footrests for that passenger.³

Lane splitting and lane filtering, new since July 2025

For most of Minnesota's history, moving between lanes of traffic on a motorcycle was flatly illegal. That changed on July 1, 2025, when an amendment to Minn. Stat. § 169.974, subd. 5 made two separate maneuvers legal statewide.⁶⁷

Lane splitting is the one that happens in moving traffic. A rider may pass between lanes of vehicles headed the same direction, but only at 25 mph or less, and no more than 15 mph faster than the traffic around them.⁶ Once the surrounding traffic speeds back up past 25 mph, the rider has to return to a single lane.⁷

Lane filtering is the slower cousin, used when traffic is stopped, at a red light or in a jam. There a rider may move up between the stopped lanes at no more than 15 mph.⁷

The same subdivision carves out places where neither maneuver is allowed:⁶⁷

• The approach, drive-through, or exit of a roundabout
• A school zone
• A work zone narrowed to a single travel lane
• An on-ramp to a freeway or expressway where vehicles are queued

One point trips up both riders and drivers. Motorists are not required to make room for a motorcycle that is splitting or filtering, but they also may not intentionally block or crowd a rider doing it legally.⁷ The responsibility to complete the move safely sits with the motorcyclist.⁷ Because the law is barely a year old, expect drivers and even some officers to still be learning where the lines are.

Why a Minnesota motorcycle injury claim works differently

Here is the part that surprises injured riders. Minnesota runs a no-fault auto insurance system, where your own policy pays your first medical bills and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. Motorcycles are left out of it. The No-Fault Act defines a "motor vehicle" as every qualifying vehicle "other than a motorcycle or other vehicle with fewer than four wheels."⁸ Because a motorcycle is not a "motor vehicle" under that definition, the mandatory personal injury protection (PIP) benefits that come standard on a car policy do not automatically ride along with a motorcycle policy.⁸

In plain terms, a hurt rider usually cannot fall back on the automatic $40,000 in no-fault benefits a car occupant would receive. Instead you look to your health insurance, any optional medical or economic-loss coverage you chose to add to the bike, and the liability insurance of the driver who hit you. That makes the coverage you buy before a crash, and the strength of the at-fault driver's policy, matter a great deal. If you need help sorting out who pays, you can find a Minnesota attorney through the legal directory.

If you do bring a claim against the at-fault driver, two more Minnesota rules shape it. The state follows modified comparative fault: you can recover only if you are found no more than 50 percent at fault, and your award is cut by your own share.⁹ And you generally have six years from the date of the crash to sue for your injuries.¹⁰ Waiting is still a bad idea, because physical evidence and witness memory fade long before that deadline runs.

For the paperwork side of a crash, the official police report is what most insurers and lawyers start from. The Minnesota crash reports page walks through getting a copy. If your bike lost market value even after a solid repair, that is a separate claim, covered on the Minnesota diminished value page.

The 2025 lane-sharing law is the newest wrinkle in a body of rules that has favored rider freedom on helmets while tightening up on training and equipment. Learn the exact numbers for the two maneuvers, keep your eye protection on, and ride like the car in the next lane has not read the statute yet.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety, "Motorcycle safety trends headed in the right direction as season comes to a close" (2023 motorcyclist fatality data). https://dps.mn.gov/news/ots/motorcycle-safety-trends-headed-right-direction-season-comes-close

2. Minnesota Statutes § 169.974, subd. 4 (equipment for operator and passenger; helmet and eye protection). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.974

3. Minnesota Department of Public Safety, "Motorcycle rider laws." https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ots/safe-driving-information-and-laws/traffic-safety-laws/motorcycle-rider-laws

4. Minnesota Statutes § 169.974, subd. 2 (license endorsement and instruction permit requirements). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.974

5. Minnesota Department of Public Safety, "About the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Program." https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ots/safe-driving-information-and-laws/mn-motorcycle-safety-center/about-mn-motorcycle-safety-program

6. Minnesota Statutes § 169.974, subd. 5 (driving rules; lane splitting and filtering). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.974

7. Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety, "Lane splitting and filtering begin in MN." https://dps.mn.gov/news/ots/lane-splitting-filtering-begin-mn

8. Minnesota Statutes § 65B.43, subd. 2 (definition of "motor vehicle" under the No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/65B.43

9. Minnesota Statutes § 604.01 (comparative fault). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/604.01

10. Minnesota Statutes § 541.05, subd. 1 (six-year limitations period). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/541.05