Laws mandating such use at all times are not desirable. The decision to use a helmet, at what times, and under which circumstances or conditions should remain with the adult operator or passenger. Mandatory helmet use laws were initiated by the Federal government in the Highway Safety Act of 1966, and subsequently repealed by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1975. Most states repealed the imposed mandatory helmet use laws for adults after the Federal pressure was removed. There is currently no Federal penalty against states which do not have or modify existing mandatory helmet use laws.
Motorcyclists generally exhibit a high rate of voluntary compliance with use of helmets.
Where helmet use is not required by law, rates of use typically range from 60 to 75 percent. Rates as high as 82 percent have been achieved with active promotion of voluntary use, and in no case does voluntary use fall below 50 to 55 percent, far exceeding the voluntary use rates for automobile seatbelts, and comparing favorably with rates of compliance achieved with mandatory seatbelt use laws. Some advocates of mandatory helmet use laws believe that uninsured costs of injured motorcyclists which must be borne by the public would increase if voluntary use is permitted. This is not supported by the experience of states which have repealed mandatory use laws. As for any burden that uninsured motorcyclists may be thought to place on health care resources, it has been consistently found that motorcyclists are as likely to be privately insured as any other motor vehicle accident victim and in some cases more likely to be privately insured than the general population of trauma patients.