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 This is not supported by the experience of states which have repealed mandatory use laws.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.
Motorcycle accidents represent less than one percent of all vehicular accidents.
Compared with automobile drivers, motorcyclists represent a minuscule part of all motor vehicle accident costs. Finally, the problem of prejudicial treatment of motorcyclists needs to be addressed. Most people do not ride motorcycles, and tend to look upon those who do as different from themselves. Motorcyclists struggle under a negative public image, largely fostered by entertainment media constantly in search of stock villains. Only a small number of motorcyclists fit the negative media image.