|
Regardless of laws, wearing a Motorcycle helmet is a personal choice. Iron Horse Helmets offers you a great choice in motorcycle helmets to suit the riding you do. While we wish our customers as well as all who ride to be safe and have the proper protection, the decision is up to you. Our selection can assist you in purchasing the right motorcycle helmet for your needs.
*Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas provide exceptions for riders over a certain age. In Florida and Kentucky, the law requires that all riders younger than 21 yrs. wear helmets, without exception. Those 21 yrs. and older may ride without helmets only if they can show proof that they are covered by a medical insurance policy. Louisiana's law allows riders 18 yrs. and older to ride without helmets if they can show proof that they are covered by a medical insurance policy. Texas exempts riders 21 yrs. or older if they either 1) can show proof of successfully completing a motorcycle operator training and safety course or 2) can show proof of having a medical insurance policy. *Motorcycle helmet laws in Kentucky, Minnesota, and Wisconsin also cover drivers with instructional/learner's permits. *Maine's motorcycle helmet use law covers passengers 14 years and younger, drivers with learner's permits, and passengers if their drivers are required to wear a helmet. *Bicycle helmet use laws in Massachusetts and New York prohibit people from transporting passengers younger than age 1. *North Dakota's motorcycle helmet use law covers all passengers traveling with drivers who are covered by the law. *Ohio's motorcycle helmet use law covers all drivers during the first year of licensure and all passengers of drivers who are covered by the law *Rhode Island's motorcycle helmet use law covers all drivers during the first year of licensure and all passengers. ***International -England / UK, New Zealand has a Full Helmet law * Laws requiring all motorcyclists
to wear a helmet are in place in 20 states and the District of Columbia
The history of motorcycle helmet
laws in the United States is characterized by change. In 1967, to
increase motorcycle helmet use, the federal government required
the states to enact helmet use laws in order to qualify for certain
federal safety programs and highway construction funds. The federal
incentive worked. By the early 1970s, almost all the states had
universal motorcycle helmet laws ("universal" in the sense that
they covered all riders). Michigan was the first state to repeal
its law in 1968, beginning a pattern of repeal, reenactment, and
amendment of motorcycle helmet laws. In 1976, states successfully
lobbied Congress to stop the Department of Transportation from assessing
financial penalties on states without helmet laws. By 1980, most
states had repealed or limited their motorcycle helmet laws to cover
riders younger than 18, but not older riders. Later states that
had repealed the law, reinstated it but only for young riders. All
but 3 states (Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire) now require some
or all motorcyclists to wear helmets. Since 1997, Arkansas, Florida,
Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Texas have changed their laws covering
all riders to apply only to young riders. And most recently, Louisiana
moved from a partial to a universal motorcycle helmet law. The changes
in helmet laws have created a natural laboratory for researchers
to study the effects of the laws on helmet use rates and on motorcycle
deaths and head injuries. Helmet use rates approach 100 percent
under universal laws (currently, in 20 states and the District of
Columbia), but partial laws that cover only some motorcyclists (currently,
in 27 states ) are widely disobeyed. Repeatedly, research has shown
that universal helmet laws reduce deaths and serious injuries among
motorcyclists. The sharp reductions in helmet use resulting from
weakening or repealing motorcycle helmet laws are followed by significant
increases in injuries and deaths. Research in Texas is illustrative.
The universal helmet law in Texas is estimated to have saved 650
lives between 1968 when it went into effect and 1977 when it was
first amended. The amended law covered only riders younger than
18 and its enactment was followed by a 35 percent increase in motorcyclist
fatalities. Texas reinstated universal coverage in 1989. Helmet
use which had dropped to 41 percent under the partial law, promptly
rose to 98 percent and serious injury crashes per registered motorcycle
decreased by 11 percent. The pattern repeated in 1997 when Texas
again rolled back the law to apply only to riders younger than 21.
In less than a year, helmet use was down to 66 percent, and operator
fatalities increased 31 percent in the first full year of the new
law. For references and further research, see Q&A: Motorcycle helmet
use laws. Bicycle helmets also prevent injuries, but no state has
a universal bicycle helmet law. Only 21 states and the District
of Columbia and the District of Columbia have statewide bicycle
helmet laws, and they apply only to young riders (often riders younger
than 16). Local ordinances in a few other states require bicycle
helmets for some or all riders.
|
|---|
