Texas Helmet Laws
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I recently blogged on motorcycle accidents and helmet laws and I wanted to go a little more in detail about how the laws apply in Texas.
Research has shown that states that either reinstate or enact universal motorcycle helmet laws showed an increase in helmet use and a decrease in motorcyclist deaths and injuries. States that repealed or weakened their universal helmet laws saw a decline in helmet use and a rise in motorcyclist deaths and injuries.
For example, Texas had a universal helmet law from 1968 to 1977 that was estimated to have saved 650 lives. The law was amended in 1977 to a partial law that only applied to riders younger than 18, resulting in a 35 percent increase in motorcyclist fatalities. Then in September 1989, Texas reinstated its helmet law for all motorcyclists. With that change, the helmet usage rate went from 41 percent to 90 percent during the first month, and had risen to 98 percent by June 1990. Serious injury crashes per registered motorcycle also decreased 11 percent. However, again in September 1997, Texas weakened its helmet law, requiring helmets only for riders younger than 21. By May 1998, helmet use dropped to 66 percent, and operator fatalities increased 31 percent in the first full year following the repeal.
In addition to the partial helmet law, Texas also had a law requiring a person to be covered with a minimum of $10,000 in health insurance to cover any injuries incurred in a motorcycle accident to be eligible for an exemption for the offense of operating or riding a motorcycle without a helmet. However, on September 1, 2009, Senate Bill 1967 became effective that repealed the helmet exemption sticker program. The new law removes the minimum amount required in health insurance and requires the Texas Department of Insurance to prescribe a standard proof of health insurance for issuance to persons who are at least 21 years of age and covered by an applicable health insurance plan.
I think that it is interesting that Texas is constantly changing their regulations in regards to helmet laws even when there is an obvious trend linking the increase of fatalities with reduced helmet laws. I believe that the universal helmet law would provide the most safety and would greatly reduce the amount of motorcycle fatalities in Texas.