Motorcycle helmet laws are highly political and hot topics of debate throughout the United States. The federal government is unable to set a national helmet policy because constitutionally-speaking, helmet law is under the jurisdiction of individual states. However, the federal government has attempted to influence state policy in the past by creating the Highway Safety Act of 1966, which authorized the Department of Transportation to withhold portions of federal highway road construction funds from any states that did not enact motorcycle helmet laws for all riders. This Act prompted 38 states to enact a helmet law by the end of the following year, and by 1995, 47 of 50 states had a law requiring all riders to wear helmets.
However, that same year, Congress withdrew the federal requirement, and three years later, half of the states with helmet laws repealed those statutes. And, since that time, many states have modified the law to only requiring minors to wear helmets while on motorcycles. Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia require all riders to wear helmets; 27 states have limited helmet laws; and only 3 states have absolutely no regulation on helmet use.
Though there are passionate activists on both sides of the helmet issue, most people can clearly see that helmets contribute to the surprisingly low numbers of motorcycle injuries and fatalities along our nation’s highways.
If you or a loved one was injured or killed in a motorcycle accident in Florida, please visit the website of the experienced motorcycle accident attorneys at Ellis, Ged & Bodden, P.A., serving clients in West Palm Beach and surrounding areas of Florida.
