Lawmakers OK bill requiring whitewater rafting helmets

Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, on Thursday carried House Bill 2652 , which requires rafting guides and outfitters that serve Class 3 whitewater or higher make helmets available for their customers’ use, in the Oregon Senate, where the bill passed unanimously.

Rep. Chris Gorsek, D-Troutdale, introduced the bill after hearing about one of his constituents, Sharon Birge, who lost her life in a rafting accident in 2015.

Birge, a 67-year-old safety manager at Boeing, suffered a traumatic head injury, not completely apparent at the time, on a guided rafting trip down the Deschutes River on July 6, 2015. It wasn’t until hours after the injury that it became apparent that Birge needed medical attention.

Sharon and her husband Robert, their daughter Shawna Wellman and two grandchildren were on board the raft at the time as well.

“Having spoken with Sharon’s family, it is apparent that had helmets been available she would have insisted that the whole family wear them,” Gorsek said of his sponsorship of the legislation.

“They mentioned that Sharon was a safety manager by profession and insisted her family use seatbelts soon after they were introduced, she was uniquely insistent at a time when most were apathetic about these kinds of safety measures.”

After originally introducing the bill in 2017, the concept was refined with the help of stakeholders, including professionals from the industry.

“I undertook this legislation in honor of Sharon and to keep others in similar circumstances safe,” Gorsek added. “I am proud that we were able to get this passed in the House and Senate with such broad bipartisan support.”