Motorcyclist’s road to recovery makes him reconsider Nebraska’s helmet law repeal

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Some motorcyclists are looking forward to Nebraska’s helmet requirement going away next year.

Cole Bottger couldn’t wait for the day — until he was hit by a car.

“My parents, they’re excited about it,” Bottger said. “They always like the feeling of no helmet and stuff like that. But with me, I’m definitely going to wear one from now.”

The 20-year-old is now recovering from broken bones and a spinal cord injury at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals.

But doctors say thanks to his helmet, there were no injuries to his brain.

“Wearing my helmet definitely saved a lot of head trauma,” he said. “I’m pretty lucky I had it on.”

Motorcycle helmet use rates in the state fell to a five-year low in 2020, according to the latest data from the Nebraska Department of Transportation.

Just 81% of people were using them, compared with 87% the previous year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that helmets saved 1,872 lives in 2017 alone.