Riding without a helmet
Don’t need to be judged here: I like taking motorcycle vacations, and if I’m going to go to the expense, I want to do it in a state where there aren’t helmet laws because it’s a much more free and exciting experience. I’m having trouble these days finding states that don’t have helmet laws. Are there any anymore?
There are: three states, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association — which, in my experience, does excellent research and regularly updates when laws change — have no motorcycle helmet law. The states are New Hampshire, Iowa and Illinois.
That doesn’t mean those are the only states in which you can ride helmetless. Twenty-eight states plus Guam require helmets for only specific riders. The specific riders for whom they need helmets vary somewhat from state to state. For example, Colorado and Montana, which repealed their universal helmet laws in 1977, require helmets only for riders and passengers who are younger than age 18. I’m guessing you’re older than that.
Rhode Island requires helmets for all riders who are younger than 21 years old or who have been licensed for less than one year. All passengers, however, must wear helmets.
Those are just some examples of the specific requirements, but, essentially, you’d probably be able to ride helmetless in most of the 28 states that have no universal helmet law but that have some requirements for specific riders.
You can figure out which states would work for you by going to https://www.ghsa.org/state-laws/ issues/motorcyclists.
So now that I’ve provided the info you requested, I will not judge, but I will add more facts.
More than 5,000 motorcyclists die on U.S. roadways every year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Studies show that helmets are about 37 percent effective in preventing motorcycle deaths and 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries.
If I’m going to be traveling on something without sides and is less visible than a car, something that weighs somewhere between 250 and 900 pounds (versus an average car, which weighs about 3,500 pounds), I’d want every piece of protection I can have. But that’s just me.