A Berks County lawmaker wants to reinstate a helmet requirement for motorcyclists.

Thousands of leather-clad lobbyists will fight to stop the proposal.

For more than 20 years, Pennsylvania has allowed motorcycle riders over the age of 21 to go without helmets if they have two years of riding experience or have completed a motorcycle safety course.

The current law was enacted in 2003 after years of lobbying by motorcycle riders, led by the state chapter of the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education.

The group favors the current law and will fight any effort to require helmets, said Ken Edwards, state legislative coordinator for the alliance. “We will descend on Harrisburg” if lawmakers begin moving legislation to require helmets, he said

Edwards said he usually wears a helmet while riding his motorcycle but appreciates that he is not legally required to do so.

“It’s about the last freedom we have,” he said.

That freedom may come at a deadly cost.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that 20,000 people who died in motorcycle crashes over the past four decades might have survived if they’d been wearing helmets.

If every state had required all riders to wear helmets from 1976 to 2022, 22,058 motorcyclists’ lives could have been saved. The number represents 11% of all rider fatalities over those years, according to the institute’s analysis.

“Requiring all riders to wear helmets is a commonsense rule not that different from requiring people in cars to buckle up,” the institute’s president, David Harkey, said in a statement. “We have an obligation to protect everyone on our roadways through smart policy.”

Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have all-rider helmet laws in place.

State Rep. Manuel Guzman, D-Berks, wants Pennsylvania to join that list.

“Motorcycle crashes remain a significant source of preventable death and injury in the Commonwealth. Traumatic brain injuries, in particular, are among the leading causes of fatality and long-term disability among unhelmeted riders,” Guzman said in a co-sponsor memo seeking support for his planned legislation. “Partial helmet laws do not provide sufficient protection to the riding public.”

The bill has not yet been introduced.

Focus on rider safety

Edwards said officials in the motorcycle group believe making rider safety classes accessible is an important tool for saving lives by preventing crashes.

“We want to see more trained riders,” he said.

Pennsylvania offers free motorcycle rider safety classes. The classes are funded through fees paid by motorcyclists. Rider safety classes in other states can cost hundreds of dollars, Edwards said.

Pennsylvania data on helmet use

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh analyzed data comparing motorcycle crashes in the years before and after the helmet law was changed and found that head injuries and deaths from head wounds jumped after the helmet law was eased.

Head injury deaths increased 66%, according to the study. The number of patients hospitalized due to head injuries sustained in motorcycle crashes rose 78%.

Last year, motorcycle crashes accounted for 3% of all vehicle crashes but 20% of fatal crashes. In 2024, 219 people died in motorcycle crashes. Of those, 111 were wearing helmets and 100 were not; in eight cases, it was unclear whether the victim was wearing protective headgear.

In 2001, motorcycle crashes accounted for 2.3% of all vehicle crashes, but motorcycle accidents represented 9% of traffic fatalities.

One hundred of the 129 people killed in motorcycle crashes in 2001 were wearing helmets. Nineteen were not wearing helmets, and investigators couldn’t determine whether a helmet was worn in eight fatal motorcycle crashes.

The increase in motorcycle crash deaths came as the number of people licensed to operate motorcycles and the number of motorcycles on the road dropped, Department of Transportation data shows.

The number of licensed motorcycle operators dropped 8.5% from 2014 to 2024. The number of motorcycles on the road dropped 11.5% over the same period.