---
type: "Bill"
title: "Child safety requirements for off-road vehicles."
description: "Provides that an individual less than 18 years of age is not required to wear a helmet while operating or riding on an off-road vehicle if certain requirements are met. Provides that a person may not knowingly authorize or permit an individual less than 18 years of age to operate or ride on an off-road vehicle in violation of the statute providing helmet requirements for off-road vehicle operators."
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2024"
identifier: "SB 281"
citation: "Indiana SB 281 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["CHILDREN AND MINORS; Generally", "HEALTH; Generally", "TRANSPORTATION; Landcraft"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Mark Messmer", "Michael Crider", "Shane Lindauer"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 19
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2024-01-16"
last_action: "2024-03-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f824fa9c-7a24-44c3-bdca-990d35789545"
source_url: "https://api.iga.in.gov/2024/bills/sb0281"
source_hash: "a3e9cc84e93674f4dd4e2ee3dd9c1e73148b23c991caafbd6fdd4acd5d1e82e4"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana SB 281 (2024) — Child safety requirements for off-road vehicles.

Provides that an individual less than 18 years of age is not required to wear a helmet while operating or riding on an off-road vehicle if certain requirements are met. Provides that a person may not knowingly authorize or permit an individual less than 18 years of age to operate or ride on an off-road vehicle in violation of the statute providing helmet requirements for off-road vehicle operators.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Enrolled Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0281/SB0281.04.ENRH.pdf)
2. **Introduced Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0281/SB0281.01.INTR.pdf)
3. **Senate Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0281/SB0281.02.COMS.pdf)
4. **Senate Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/123/2024/senate/bills/SB0281/SB0281.03.COMH.pdf)

## Votes

- SB 281 - Messmer - 3rd Reading — **43–5** (pass) · upper
- SB 281 - Lindauer - 3rd Reading — **80–16** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Mark Messmer — primary (person)
- Michael Crider — primary (person)
- Shane Lindauer — primary (person)
- Steve Bartels — cosponsor (person)
- Wendy McNamara — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-01-16** Authored by Senator Messmer
- **2024-01-16** First reading: referred to Committee on Homeland Security and Transportation `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2024-01-30** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-01** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2024-02-05** Senator Crider added as second author
- **2024-02-05** House sponsor: Representative Lindauer
- **2024-02-05** Cosponsors: Representatives Bartels and McNamara
- **2024-02-05** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 114: yeas 43, nays 5 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2024-02-06** Referred to the House `referral`
- **2024-02-12** First reading: referred to Committee on Roads and Transportation `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2024-02-20** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-22** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2024-02-26** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 206: yeas 80, nays 16 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2024-02-27** Returned to the Senate without amendments `receipt`
- **2024-02-29** Signed by the President Pro Tempore `passage`
- **2024-03-04** Signed by the Speaker `passage`
- **2024-03-08** Signed by the President of the Senate `passage`
- **2024-03-11** Public Law 38 `became-law`
- **2024-03-11** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/f824fa9c-7a24-44c3-bdca-990d35789545`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).