Helmet use laws governing all motorcycle occupants significantly increase helmet use and are easily enforced because of the occupant's high visibility. Data on crashes in states where only minors are required to wear helmets show that fewer than 40 percent of the fatally injured minors are wearing helmets even though the law requires them to do so. Helmet laws that govern only minors are extremely difficult to enforce. In 1976, the Highway Safety Act was amended to remove sanctions against states without motorcycle helmet laws. Caution must be employed when comparing states to each other with motorcycle crash statistics.
States differ in their propensities for motorcycle fatalities.
The most accurate method of evaluating the impact of traffic safety measures is to compare the states crash experience against itself. Reported helmet use rates for fatally injured motorcyclists in 1999 were 55 percent for operators and 47 percent for passengers, compared with 54 percent and 45 percent, respectively, in 1998. In another 27 states, only persons under a specific age, usually 18, are required to wear helmets. Three states have no law requiring helmet use. The reduction occurred even though motorcycle registrations increased 6 percent during the year.