Motorcycle Helmets - Florida Motorcycle Helmet Laws

Since July 2000, motorcycle riders have not needed to follow a universal helmet law, demanding all riders, regardless of age, to wear a helmet when riding their motorcycles. Now, Florida helmet laws and regulations stipulate that riders older than 21 that have a minimum of $10,000 in medical coverage can lawfully ride their bikes without putting on a helmet, a move that was considered a victory by several riders disappointed with universal helmet laws that had been in effect until that period.

Whether or not the move implies a clear victory or not is reliant on interpretation. While riders can enjoy the road unencumbered by motorcycle helmets which are usually weighty and hot, a study by the Florida Department of Transportation indicates that motorbike injuries and also fatalities have risen following repeal of the universal laws, forcing a few state authorities to revisit the law.

The debate over universal helmet regulations has not been confined to Florida. Throughout the nation, universal helmet requirements have met with active opposition, and recently, several state governments have eliminated universal helmet laws completely, while other impose specific age or insurance rules that control who should put on a helmet, and who may choose to not wear a helmet.

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

In 1975, with penalties impending against three states, Congress revisited the Highway Safety Act, and eradicated the helmet law mandate, and also disallowing a suspension of federal funds from states without universal helmet laws. The result: by 1978, 25 countries had repealed their legal guidelines, or amended them to incorporate only specific groups, generally people under the age of 18.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 states started reenacting helmet laws in order to reduce injuries and fatalities, and reduce insurance and medical expenses. In 1989, Oregon and Texas once again enforced universal helmet regulations, and Washington and Maryland followed suit in 1990 and 1992. Even California, which had never before enforced a helmet law, passed a universal helmet law in 1992 after much hype. Florida also enacted a helmet law, however in 1996 as noted, the law was amended that include only riders under 21 and those without enough insurance coverage.

The repeal immediately noticed a marked change in helmet use in the country. As observational helmet use studies conducted by the state DOT in 1998 revealed 99.5 percent of motorbike riders wore helmets. A similar survey conducted in 2002, two years following the repeal of the universal helmet law, indicated that rate had lowered to 52.7 percent.

Another study conducted by the Florida DOT also discovered that although the overall number of crashes decreased during the 18-month period after the law was repealed when compared with the 19-month period prior to repeal, deadly crashes among the state's motorbike riders increased by approximately 43 percent after Florida helmet regulations were revised, from 284 fatalities in the 18-month period before repeal, to 404 deaths in the 18-month period following repeal. Non-fatal accidental injuries elevated by about 16 percent in the same period. Even the numbers of under-age bikers elevated after repeal of the law, from 7 percent to 11 percent.

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