The Importance Of Universal Helmet Laws

Register to read the introduction… A study completed by Daniel C. Norvell and Peter Cummings found that in seventy-two percent of study participants wore a helmet when the law required it. Conversely, only fifteen percent of study participants wore a helmet when it was not required by law (485). When analyzing 2008-2010 data provided by the NHTSA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) findings state that fatal injuries increased dramatically when universal helmet laws were not in place. When fatal accidents occurred in states with universal helmet laws, only twelve percent of the motorcyclists were not wearing a helmet as opposed to sixty-four percent in states with partial laws and seventy-nine percent in states with no helmet law (Naumann and Shults 425). These statistics would seem to indicate the importance of states enacting universal helmet laws. Unfortunately, not every state has one. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) only nineteen states and the District of Columbia have universal helmet laws and an additional twenty-eight have partial helmet laws, where specific riders must wear a helmet, but not all, usually anyone 18-21 and younger (“Motorcycles”). Unfortunately, this is down from a noted high point of forty-seven states and the District of Columbia having universal helmet laws in 1975 (Houston and Richardson …show more content…
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