Opinion ID: 1183189
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the equal protection of the laws

Text: Marber next contends that NRS 486.231 violates his rights to equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and Article 1, § 1 and Article IV, § 21 of the Nevada Constitution. Marber argues that there is no rational basis for the law. The district court found that there was an unreasonable classification and that, therefore, the helmet law violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The mandatory helmet law is not based on any invidious discrimination such as race, alienage, or religion. Nor is a fundamental right involved. In the area of social and economic legislation, the constitutionality of the statute will be upheld against a Fourteenth Amendment challenge if the law is reasonable, not arbitrary, and bears a rational relationship to a legitimate state purpose. New Orleans v. Dukes, 427 U.S. 297, 96 S.Ct. 2513, 49 L.Ed.2d 511 (1976); Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, 416 U.S. 1, 94 S.Ct. 1536, 39 L.Ed.2d 797 (1974). The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution permits the States a wide scope of discretion in enacting laws which affect some groups of citizens differently than others. McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 81 S.Ct. 1101, 6 L.Ed.2d 393 (1961). If any state of facts may reasonably be conceived to justify it, a statutory discrimination will not be set aside. Id. There are differences in the physical characteristics of automobiles and motorcycles. Differences in the handling and operation of motorcycles require different skills and produce different consequences should an accident occur. These factors justify the classification and disparate treatment of motorcyclists. The State's interests in enacting mandatory helmet laws are to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the public. Courts and commentators have articulated and advanced several theories to explain these interests. See State of Hawaii v. Cotton, 55 Haw. 138, 516 P.2d 709 (1973). Evidence in the record indicates that without a mandatory helmet law medical costs in Nevada would be increased by over 1/2 million dollars each year and that two-thirds of these costs would be borne by the general public. Evidence also indicates that mandatory helmet laws significantly reduce the number of motorcycle fatalities per year. Even though this evidence may have been subject to legitimate question by those who opposed passage of the Nevada law, our Legislature was entitled to act upon it. The State's interest in reducing the severity of injuries to motorcyclists, the financial protection of the public from increased costs due to motorcycle accidents and the promotion of highway safety are legitimate state interests. The mandatory helmet law is rationally related to the State's objectives. NRS 486.231 does not violate Marber's right to the equal protection of the law. The district court erred in so holding.