You can visit the universal motorcycle helmet laws webpage external icon on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s website for up-to-date information on motorcycle helmet laws by state.

10 Recent or Current Legislation by State In 2020, observed compliant motorcycle helmet use was 84% in states with universal helmet laws and only 54% in states without such laws. 5,6 More recent research has found similar results. 5-7 The inverse was also found to be true states that have repealed universal helmet laws have seen significant drops in the use of motorcycle helmets and increases in motorcyclist deaths, injuries, and healthcare costs. 4Ī Community Guide Systematic Review of studies through 2012 and a corresponding Community Preventative Services Task Force Finding found that universal motorcycle helmet laws are effective at increasing helmet use and thereby reducing crash-related deaths, injuries, and healthcare costs. An additional 749 lives could have been saved that year if all motorcyclists had worn helmets. 2 Motorcycle helmet use was estimated to have saved the lives of 1,872 motorcyclists in 2017 alone. 1-3 A Cochrane systematic review of studies through 2007 found that motorcycle helmets reduce rider fatalities and head injuries. 1,2 They greatly reduce deaths and serious head injuries, including traumatic brain injury, in crashes. Motorcycle helmets are highly effective in protecting motorcyclists’ heads. 1 Effectiveness and Use of Universal Motorcycle Helmet Laws Universal helmet laws are different from partial helmet laws, which typically apply only to riders below a certain age. Ideally, the helmet should meet federal safety standards set by the U.S. Universal motorcycle helmet laws require all motorcyclists to wear a helmet, regardless of the rider’s age or experience.

Motorcycle riders break traffic laws