Motorcycle Helmet Laws

Studies and comparisons between states where helmet laws are enacted or repealed show that motorcycle helmets save lives and prevent injuries. Only one credible study has suggested that motorcycle helmets increase the risk of neck injury. However, the results of that study have been refuted by reviews of thousands of actual motorcycle accident cases, and the current finding suggest that motorcycle helmets actually reduce the risk of neck injury. Attempts to represent the situation as the reverse are either deliberate misrepresentation or a misunderstanding of the data.

However, the issue of personal freedom and personal choice is an especially potent one for motorcycle riders, who have successfully campaigned to repeal motorcycle helmet laws in many states, so that less than half of states have motorcycle helmet laws covering all riders.

The Effectiveness of Motorcycle Helmets

Motorcycle helmets have been shown to be effective at reducing the risk of:

It has also been shown that motorcycle helmets do not significantly affect the peripheral vision or hearing of riders, and they do not result in an increased accident risk.

A Brief History of Motorcycle Laws

Following the success of seatbelt laws (which just required that they be installed, not worn), legislators sought to reduce the number of motorcycle accident injures as well by requiring helmet use. The US government made a motorcycle helmet law a condition of receiving federal aid for highway maintenance in 1967, and by the early 1970s almost all states had universal helmet laws.

Michigan bucked the pattern, though, and repealed its helmet law in 1968. It put its law back in place in 1969, then repealed it again in 2012, although with the provision that unhelmeted riders had to have medical insurance, and riders under 21 were still required to wear helmets.

Michigan’s pattern is typical, with numerous states repealing, modifying, and reinstating motorcycle helmet laws.

This pattern became even more pronounced after Congress decoupled highway funding from motorcycle laws in 1976.

Current Motorcycle Helmet Laws

Currently, only 3 states do not have any motorcycle helmet law: Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have universal helmet laws:

  • Alabama

  • California

  • Georgia

  • Louisiana

  • Maryland

  • Massachusetts

  • Mississippi

  • Missouri

  • Nebraska

  • Nevada

  • New Jersey

  • New York

  • North Carolina

  • Oregon

  • Tennessee

  • Vermont

  • Virginia

  • Washington

  • West Virginia

All other states have laws covering some riders, usually riders under 18 or 21.

Is It a Motorcycle?

Recent cultural shifts and the rising cost of gasoline have increased the popularity of small motor scooters, which may be powered by a gasoline or an electric engine. These vehicles are often incapable of reaching highway speeds, but many states still consider them to be motorcycles under the terms of the helmet law.

For more information about motorcycle helmet laws in your state, you can check with your state’s department of transportation or highway patrol. If you need information about a motorcycle accident lawsuit, please contact AccidentAttorneys.org.