Assessment About Motorbike Headwear Rules And Legislation

Posted: Oct 15, 2010 |Comments: 0 |

Since July 2000, motorcycle riders have not needed to adhere to a universal helmet law, wanting all riders, irrespective of age, to put on a helmet when riding their motorbikes. Today, Florida helmet regulations stipulate that riders over the age of 21 who have a minimum of $10,000 in medical care coverage can legally ride their bikes without wearing a helmet, a move that was regarded as a victory by many bikers unhappy with universal helmet laws which were in effect until that period.

Whether or not the move signifies a clear victory or not is reliant on interpretation. While bikers can enjoy the road unencumbered by motorcycle helmets which are usually weighty and hot, a report by the Florida Department of Transportation shows that motorcycle accidental injuries and even deaths have risen following repeal of the universal laws, forcing certain state authorities to revisit the law.

The debate over universal helmet regulations has not been restricted to Florida. Across the nation, universal helmet conditions have met with active opposition, and recently, several states have taken off universal helmet regulations completely, while other enforce certain age or insurance guidelines which govern who should put on a helmet, and who can prefer to not wear a helmet.


Before 1966, there were no motorcycle helmet laws in any state. But the Highway Safety Act of that same year put an end to that, demanding the establishment of uniform safety programs for bikers across the country. Under this act, all countries were instructed to develop and implement laws and regulations which mandated the use of helmets by all motorbike riders. Countries that turned down to enact such legal guidelines faced losing s portion of federal highway construction funds.

In 1975, with fees and penalties impending against three states, Congress revisited the Highway Safety Act, and eradicated the helmet law mandate, as well as disallowing a suspension of federal funds from nations without universal helmet laws. The result: by 1978, 25 nations had repealed their laws, or amended them to include only specific groups, mostly people under the age of 18.

The 1980s was, overall, a period of stasis for helmet laws. However in the late 1980s and 1990s, several state governments started reenacting helmet laws in an effort to decrease injuries and deaths, and decrease insurance and medical costs. In 1989, Oregon and Texas yet again implemented universal helmet regulations, and Washington and Maryland followed suit in 1990 and 1992. Even California, that had never before enacted a helmet law, enacted a universal helmet law in 1992 after much hype. Florida also enacted a helmet regulation, however in 1996 as noted, the law was amended to include only riders under 21 and those without adequate insurance coverage.

The repeal immediately saw a marked change in helmet use in the country. As observational helmet use studies conducted by the state DOT in 1998 discovered 99.5 percent of motorcycle bikers wore helmets. A similar survey conducted in 2002, two years after the repeal of the universal helmet law, pointed out that rate had dropped to 52.7 percent.

Another study conducted by the Florida DOT also revealed that though the overall number of crashes lowered during the 18-month period after the law was repealed when compared with the 19-month period prior to repeal, fatal crashes among the state's motorbike riders elevated by around 43 percent after Florida helmet regulations were amended, from 284 fatalities in the 18-month period before repeal, to 404 fatalities in the 18-month period after repeal. Non-fatal injuries elevated by about 16 percent in the same period. Even the numbers of under-age riders elevated after repeal of the law, from 7 percent to 11 percent.

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