Riding a motorcycle can be a fun and exciting hobby. With gas prices near all-time highs, it can also be a very economical way to get around. Unfortunately it can also be dangerous. In the spring of 2006, my brother suffered third-degree burns on both legs when the motorcycle he was riding was hit from behind by a straight truck. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and to this day I have no idea how he lived. He was lucky to have survived, but many others did not. To protect motorcyclists, laws should require all motorcyclists to wear helmets because statistics indicate that they prevent serious injuries which, in turn, cause economic strain on society. Motorcyclists argue that the choice to wear or not wear a motorcycle helmet is a personal one. and universal helmet laws, laws that require all cyclists to wear a helmet, are a violation of their civil rights. In lawsuits against states with universal helmet laws, high courts were divided. Some states ruled that the universal helmet law was unconstitutional, such as in Illinois and Michigan. In other states, such as Massachusetts and Florida, courts upheld the law (Marian and Bayer 210-211). To be sure, personal choice is something to take into consideration, however, concerns about personal safety and the safety of others should trump personal choice in this matter. Another argument against wearing a motorcycle helmet is that some motorcyclists insist that wearing a helmet limits vision and hearing and puts the rider in danger. However, a 1994 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded just the opposite. The study results indicate that wearing a helmet while riding neither increases nor decreases the rider's ability t...... middle of paper ......t, A. James and A. Scott McKnight. “The Effects of Motorcycle Helmets on Vision and Hearing.” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation, February 1994. Web. October 29, 2013."Motorcycles: Helmets and anti-lock brakes make riding less dangerous." Road safety research and communications. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Loss Data Institute. October 2013. Web. October 29, 2013. Naumann, Rebecca B., and Ruth A. Shults. “Helmet use among motorcyclists killed in crashes and economic cost savings associated with state motorcycle helmet laws – United States, 2008-2010.” MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 61.23 (2012): 425-30. Premier of academic research. Network. 1 November 2013. "Road safety data 2011". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation, May 2013. Web. Oct. 29. 2013.