There is a law in Maine that requires any person or organization who wants to operate a motor vehicle racing event or track to obtain an annual license from the commissioner of public safety.

That license provides the authority for the Department of Public Safety to require proof of liability insurance to cover losses, including death, and to set rules for construction and maintenance of grandstands, bleachers, safety barriers and other structures to protect spectators.

The law protects the safety of drivers and spectators by requiring track owners and operators to meet specific guidelines.

This same law specifically excludes motorcycle racing from these guidelines.

There is no requirement that motorcycle track operators be licensed or carry insurance to protect competitors.

There is no requirement that motorcycle track operators do anything to protect spectators from injury.

The exclusion was written into state law in 1953, when the statute governing amusements and sports was amended to add “the provisions of this section shall not apply to motor cycle racing.”

The amendment was brought to the Legislature by Lewiston Rep. Paul Couture and enacted without debate.

As so often happens, ideas come before the Legislature and, if no one steps forward to object, ideas – even flimsy ones – become laws. These laws are then rarely revisited, and statutes pile up as Legislatures come and go.

The motorcycle exclusion was adopted when Harley Davidson was manufacturing its lightweight 125cc Hummer designed for racing and Triumph was producing its 650cc Tiger 110, considered a performance model.

Today, motorcycle engines are incredibly more powerful, drivers are more skilled and courses are more challenging than they were in 1953, and it just makes sense to apply licensing rules to all racing vehicles, not just to motor cars.

Cars have roofs, roll bars and other safety devices, including restraints. Motorcycles are not so equipped, and competitors have far greater physical exposure to injury – which demands equal or more regulation, not less.

On June 15, a Massachusetts man died during a motorcycle race at Hemond’s Moto-X Park in Minot when he lost control on a corner and fell about 20 feet, suffering injuries to his head. State police and wardens handled the investigation into Dan Arnold’s death, but have no authority to examine the track or review insurance or the policies and practices of the operators.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office, which does have the authority to investigate accidents at other venues, doesn’t have authority when it comes to motorcycle racing. It’s a sport in which the operators are completely shielded from the scrutiny of public safety officials.

That’s wrong. Especially for a sport in which so many children compete.

Arnold was described as a “good, clean aggressive rider” by his friends, and the Hemond track is a well-run family operation. But that can’t be said of every rider or every venue.

When riders mount up at tracks in Maine, they ought to be kept as safe as drivers climbing into cars on other tracks. Anything less suggests that motorcyclists don’t deserve the same protections as other competitors.