A Survey On Motorbike Helmets Legal Guidelines

Since July 2000, motorbike riders have not had to abide by a universal helmet law, requiring all riders, regardless of age, to wear a helmet when operating their motorcycles. Now, Florida helmet regulations state that riders over the age of 21 that have at least $10,000 in medical coverage can legally ride their bikes without putting on a helmet, a move that was regarded as a victory by several riders unhappy with universal helmet laws that had been in effect until that time.

Whether or not the move implies a clear victory or not is reliant on interpretation. While bikers can enjoy the road unencumbered by motorcycle helmets that are generally heavy and hot, a study by the Florida Department of Transportation indicates that motorcycle injuries and also fatalities have gone up following repeal of the universal laws, prompting certain state officials to revisit the law.

The debate over universal helmet laws has not been confined to Florida. Throughout the nation, universal helmet conditions have met with active opposition, and recently, several states have eliminated universal helmet laws entirely, while other impose specific age or insurance rules which govern who should wear a helmet, and who may choose not to wear a helmet.

Before 1966, there were no motorcycle helmet regulations in any country. However the Highway Safety Act of that same year put an end to that, requiring the establishment of uniform safety programs for bikers nationwide. Under this act, all states were required to develop and implement laws which mandated the use of helmets by all bike riders. Nations that turned down to enact such legislation faced losing s portion of federal highway construction funds.

In 1975, with penalties pending against three states, Congress revisited the Highway Safety Act, and eradicated the helmet law mandate, and also disallowing a suspension of federal funds from nations without universal helmet laws. The result: by 1978, 25 countries had repealed their legal guidelines, or amended them to include only specific groups, generally individuals under the age of 18.

The 1980s was, overall, a period of stasis for helmet laws. However in the late 1980s and 1990s, several nations began reenacting helmet laws in order to decrease injuries and fatalities, and reduce insurance and medical costs. In 1989, Oregon and Texas once again enforced universal helmet regulations, and Washington and Maryland followed suit in 1990 and 1992. Even California, that had never before enacted a helmet law, passed a universal helmet law in 1992 after much publicity. Florida also enacted a helmet law, but in 1996 as noted, the law was amended that include only bikers under 21 and those without adequate insurance coverage.

The repeal immediately observed a marked change in helmet use in the state. As observational helmet use studies conducted by the state DOT in 1998 revealed 99.5 percent of motorcycle riders wore helmets. A similar survey conducted in 2002, two years following 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 although the overall number of crashes decreased during the 18-month period after the law was repealed as compared to the 19-month period prior to repeal, deadly crashes among the state's motorbike riders elevated by approximately 43 percent after Florida helmet legal guidelines were amended, from 284 fatalities in the 18-month period before repeal, to 404 fatalities in the 18-month period following repeal. Non-fatal accidental injuries elevated by around 16 percent in the same period. Even the numbers of under-age riders elevated following repeal of the law, from 7 percent to 11 percent.

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