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Despite grumbling from bikers who had staved off a helmet law for 12 years, the Senate yesterday enacted a bill requiring Maryland motorcyclists to wear protective headgear.

The 31-15 vote sent the measure to Gov. William Donald Schaefer, who had made the helmet law part of his legislative package. Maryland is the 25th state to require motorcycle helmets.

The bill also survived an attempt on the Senate floor to add a secondary enforcement amendment that the bill's proponents said would gut the measure. The amendment would have made riding without a helmet an offense only if a cyclist were stopped for another traffic violation.