Motorcycle Helmets - Florida Motorbike Helmet Legal Guidelines

Since July 2000, motorcycle riders have not needed to follow a universal helmet law, requiring all riders, irrespective of age, to wear a helmet when riding their motorcycles. Now, Florida helmet regulations stipulate that riders older than 21 that have at least $10,000 in medical care coverage can lawfully ride their bikes without putting on a helmet, a move that was considered a victory by numerous riders unhappy with universal helmet laws which 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 heavy and hot, a report by the Florida Department of Transportation indicates that motorbike injuries and also fatalities have increased following repeal of the universal laws, forcing a few state officials to reconsider 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 lately, several states have eradicated universal helmet laws completely, while other impose specific age or insurance rules that control who should wear a helmet, and who can 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 nationwide. Under this act, all countries were required to formulate and implement laws which mandated the use of helmets by all bike riders. Countries which turned down to enact such legislation faced losing s portion of government highway construction funds.

In 1975, with fees and 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 The result: by 1978, 25 nations had repealed their legal guidelines, or amended them to include only particular groups, generally people under the age of 18.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 state governments started reenacting helmet laws in order to decrease injuries and deaths, and decrease 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 publicity. Florida also passed 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 state. As observational helmet use research conducted by the state DOT in 1998 discovered 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 revealed that though the overall number of crashes reduced 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 around 43 percent after Florida helmet regulations were amended, from 284 deaths 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 following repeal of the law, from 7 percent to 11 percent.

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