Since July 2000, motorcycle riders have not had to follow a universal helmet law, requiring all riders, irrespective of age, to wear a helmet when operating their motorbikes. Currently, Florida helmet laws stipulate that riders over the age of 21 that have at least $10,000 in medical care coverage can legally ride their motorcycles without wearing a helmet, a move which was considered a victory by many riders unhappy with universal helmet laws which had been in effect until that time.

Regardless of whether the move signifies a clear victory or not is a matter of interpretation. While riders can enjoy the road unencumbered by motorcycle helmets that are usually heavy and hot, a report by the Florida Department of Transportation indicates that motorcycle accidental injuries and even deaths have increased following repeal of the universal laws, prompting a few state officials to reconsider the law.

The debate over universal helmet laws is not restricted to Florida. Across the nation, universal helmet requirements have met with active opposition, and in recent years, several states have eradicated universal helmet laws entirely, while other enforce certain age or insurance guidelines that govern who should wear a helmet, and who can choose not to put on a helmet.

Before 1966, there were no motorcycle helmet laws in any state. But the Highway Safety Act of that same year put an end to that, requiring the establishment of uniform safety programs for bikers nationwide. Under this act, all countries were required to develop and implement laws and regulations that mandated the use of helmets by all motorcycle riders. Countries that turned down to enact such legislation faced losing s portion of government highway construction funds.

In 1975, with penalties pending against three states, Congress reconsidered the Highway Safety Act, and eliminated the helmet law mandate, as well as disallowing a suspension of federal funds from states without universal helmet laws. The result: by 1978, 25 states had repealed their legal guidelines, or amended them to include only particular groups, generally individuals under the age of 18.

The 1980s was, overall, a period of stasis for helmet regulations. But in the late 1980s and 1990s, many state governments began reenacting helmet laws in order to decrease injuries and deaths, and reduce insurance and medical costs. In 1989, Oregon and Texas yet again implemented universal helmet laws, and Washington and Maryland followed suit in 1990 and 1992. Even California, which had never before enacted a helmet law, passed a universal helmet law in 1992 after much publicity. Florida also passed a helmet law, but in 1996 as mentioned, the law was revised to include only riders under 21 and those without adequate insurance coverage.

The repeal immediately noticed a marked change in helmet use in the state. As observational helmet use research conducted by the state DOT in 1998 revealed 99.5 percent of motorcycle bikers wore helmets. A similar study conducted in 2002, two years after the repeal of the universal helmet law, indicated that rate had dropped to 52.7 percent.

Another study conducted by the Florida DOT also revealed that though the overall number of crashes decreased during the 18-month period after the law was repealed as compared to the 19-month period before repeal, fatal crashes among the state's motorcycle riders increased by roughly 43 percent after Florida helmet regulations were amended, from 284 deaths in the 18-month period before repeal, to 404 fatalities in the 18-month period after repeal. Non-fatal injuries increased by about 16 percent in the same period. Even the numbers of under-age riders elevated following repeal of the law, from 7 percent to 11 percent.

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