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Motorcycle Helmet Laws

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Motorcycle Helmet Laws 1

Running Head: Motorcycle Helmet Laws

Impact of Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Use Laws
CariAnne Kestrel
July 15, 2012
Utica College
SOC 376-Z1 Criminological Research Methods
Professor Gregory Fulkerson
Summer 2012

Motorcycle Helmet Laws 2

Over the past 30 years, many states have enacted mandatory helmet laws for motorcycle drivers. There have been many states that have rescinded these laws for reasons that may not be known by those most interested – the motorcycle rider him/herself. Currently, less than half of all U.S. states require helmets for motorcycle operators. One who is interested in this topic may wonder how those that are in positions to give the thumbs up or thumbs …show more content…

The author is interested in discovering the reasoning that the “powers that be” chose to allow her to have the freedom

Motorcycle Helmet Laws 4 to decide whether or not she will don a helmet prior to embarking on a journey. Her hypotheses as to the reasons are probably so far off base that she would be hesitant to admit them to another. Ultimately, her quest is to evaluate the writings and attempt to discover if mandatory helmet laws do, indeed, decrease injuries and deaths as a result of a motorcycle crash. There are a variety of reasons a motorcycle driver makes the decision as to whether to wear a helmet while riding vs. not wearing one. Some of the factors that influence this decision appear to be age, demographics (urban vs. rural living), and style and size of motorcycle. Other factors involved are where the person is riding (highway, city, side streets, rural areas, etc.) Weather conditions and time of day (early morning, rush hour, nighttime) also should be taken into consideration. Maneuvering through hundreds of vehicles on the road and the rising or setting sun in one’s eyes have a bearing on how well a driver can see. The incidence of accidents that result in injury and fatality has fluctuated with the enactment and rescinding of mandatory helmet use. The United States federal government has had a vacillating approach to the use of motorcycle helmets since 1967, when the National Highway Safety Act (NHSA) was first

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