If you ride in Nebraska, the rules that govern your helmet and how you use a lane changed in 2024, and both matter after a crash. Here is what state law actually requires in 2026, tied to the statutes an insurer or a judge will read.
Nebraska's helmet rule after the 2024 change
Nebraska still requires a helmet by default. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,279 says every person operating or riding as a passenger on a motorcycle or moped must wear a protective helmet of the type made for that use, secured with a chin strap while the vehicle is in motion, meeting or exceeding the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218.1 The same statute requires eye protection for the operator: glasses that cover the orbital area, goggles, a protective face shield, or a windshield that protects the horizontal line of vision.1
The 2024 amendment, LB1004, carved out a narrow exemption. A rider 21 or older who holds a Nebraska Class M motorcycle license can ride without a helmet, but only after completing an approved motorcycle safety course and filing proof of it with the Department of Motor Vehicles.12 Which course you need depends on when you were licensed. Riders who got their Class M license before May 1, 2024 can satisfy the rule with the three-hour online Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic eCourse, while riders licensed on or after that date must finish the full, hands-on basic course under the Motorcycle Safety Education Act.13 The bill cleared the Legislature 39 to 4 and was signed by the governor in April 2024.3
A few details trip riders up. The exemption belongs to the operator: a passenger 21 or older can go bare-headed only when the operator also qualifies.13 If you have not filed course proof with the DMV, the default helmet requirement still applies to you. And you need a Class M license to operate a motorcycle here in the first place, though the road-skills exam can be waived if you finished an approved safety course within the previous 24 months.4
Lane-splitting is illegal in Nebraska
Nebraska does not allow lane-splitting. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,308(3) says no person may operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles.5 The same section bars a rider from overtaking and passing in the same lane occupied by the vehicle being passed.5 So filtering forward between stopped cars at a red light, and squeezing past a slower car without leaving the lane, are both against the law.
What the statute does allow is two motorcycles side by side. A rider is entitled to full use of a lane, and up to two motorcycles may travel two abreast in a single lane, but no more than two.5 On-duty peace officers are exempt from these lane rules.5 Nebraska has adopted no lane-filtering exception like the ones a few western states have passed, so treat every lane as a full lane, every time.
Does riding without a helmet hurt your injury claim?
This is where the 2024 change matters most for a crash victim. Nebraska is a fault state and uses modified comparative negligence. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and you recover nothing if your fault is equal to or greater than the combined fault of everyone you are suing.6 That 50 percent bar is the line to watch.
When a rider is hurt without a helmet, insurers often argue the missing helmet made the injuries worse and should cut the payout. Nebraska has no statute that settles this question for helmets. Contrast that with seat belts. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,273 keeps seat belt non-use out of the liability and proximate-cause question entirely and caps any reduction of damages for it at five percent.7 That five percent cap is written for occupant protection and three-point belt systems in vehicles, and it does not mention motorcycles or helmets.7 So a helmet argument runs through ordinary comparative fault rather than that protective cap. That is one more reason the helmet decision now carries real legal weight for riders the law lets skip it.
What the numbers show since the law loosened
Riding is already the most exposed way to travel a road. Nationally, 6,335 motorcyclists were killed in 2023, about 15 percent of all traffic deaths that year, according to NHTSA.8 After Nebraska loosened its helmet rule, researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center studied trauma outcomes in the state and found that helmet use dropped and was associated with higher mortality, more traumatic brain injuries, and higher health care costs among motorcycle crash patients.9 None of that changes your right to recover. It does explain why a defense lawyer will look hard at head and brain injuries in a case where the rider had no helmet.
Deadlines and coverage every Nebraska rider should know
A crash claim runs on a clock. You generally have four years from the date of the crash to sue for your injuries under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207, and the same four-year window covers damage to your motorcycle.10 Miss it and the claim is usually gone for good.
Nebraska's minimum liability limits are low. The floor is 25/50/25: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage, under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-509.11 Because those numbers are thin, the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy often matters more than the other driver's. Every auto policy issued in Nebraska must include UM/UIM coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, and a driver cannot reject it outright, although you can request higher limits in writing.12 Nebraska does not require personal injury protection. Medical payments coverage is an optional add-on, and the at-fault driver's liability insurance is what pays the claim.13
One Nebraska quirk is worth knowing. There are no punitive damages here, no matter how reckless the other driver was. The Nebraska Constitution sends all penalty money to the schools, and the state Supreme Court has read that provision to bar punitive awards in ordinary injury cases.14 Your recovery is limited to actual losses, things like medical bills, lost income, vehicle damage, and pain, and there is no cap on those in a motorcycle crash case.
If you need a copy of the police report, Nebraska handles those through the state; you can start at the Nebraska crash report page. If your bike lost market value even after a clean repair, that is a separate diminished value claim in Nebraska. And when the injuries or the fault fight are serious, it is worth talking to a lawyer who handles Nebraska motorcycle cases, which you can start through the legal directory.
The helmet rules changed, lane-splitting did not, and the four-year clock starts the day of the crash. Knowing which statute applies to your situation is the difference between a claim you can prove and one an insurer picks apart.
This is general information about Nebraska law, not legal advice.
Sources
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,279 (motorcycle helmet and eye-protection requirement; trained-rider exemption). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,279
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Nebraska Legislature, Legislative Bill 1004 (2024), slip law. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Slip/LB1004.pdf
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Nebraska Legislature, Unicameral Update, "Motorcycle helmet requirements updated" (LB1004 final passage). https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=36185
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-4,127 (Class M license required; examination waiver for safety course). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-4,127
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,308 (operation of motorcycles; lane use; lane-splitting prohibited). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,308
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09 (comparative negligence; 50 percent bar). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-21,185.09
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,273 (seat belt / occupant protection non-use; five percent mitigation cap). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-6,273
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "Motorcycles: 2023 Data," Traffic Safety Facts. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813732.pdf
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University of Nebraska Medical Center, Newsroom, research on trauma outcomes after the Nebraska helmet-law repeal. https://www.unmc.edu/newsroom/2025/06/06/unmc-for-the-record-june-6-2025/
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207 (four-year limitation for personal injury and injury to personal property). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-207
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-509 (minimum liability limits; 25/50/25). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-509
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-6408 (mandatory uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=44-6408
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Nebraska Department of Insurance, "Important Auto Insurance and Types of Coverage." https://doi.nebraska.gov/important-auto-insurance-and-types-coverage
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Neb. Const. art. VII, § 5 (penalties directed to school fund; basis for Nebraska's bar on punitive damages). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/articles.php?article=VII-5