Helmet laws in the United States have always created a lot of controversy. There are currently two types of helmet laws in the United States; a universal helmet law, which requires all motorcyclists to wear a helmet, and a partial helmet law which has age requirements. The helmet debate has been a long battle between free rights organizations and government officials. In 1967, the Highway Safety Act created a federal highway safety grant program. Prior to this act, no U.S. state had a motorcycle helmet law. In order to receive federal funds, states had to have a highway safety program. If a state fails to adopt a universal motorcycle helmet law, some of these federal funds could be withheld. In 1975, forty-seven states responded and passed helmet laws. Congress changed incentives for state helmet laws in 1976. Although it passed the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act in 1991 to provide states with incentives and penalties based on helmet laws. This had little effect on the states, and Congress revoked this helmet policy in 1995. The states, under pressure from pro-choice groups like ABATE, weakened and began repealing their helmet laws. (Read) According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 20 states still require all cyclists to wear helmets today. Three states have no helmet laws and the other 27 have age restrictions. I currently live in Pennsylvania and helmet law is very personal to me. I have many close friends and family, including myself, who are avid motorcyclists. We are all fully aware of the dangers associated with driving in person. This debate has been discussed many times around our table. Despite... half of the paper......st. Network. 17 November 2011. "Costs of injuries resulting from motorcycle accidents". Home | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Network. November 20, 2011. Rhoades, Jim. "Helmet law". ABATE of Michigan 248 685 9150. Web. November 16, 2011. "Crash Science." Friction Zone June 2006: 2-4. Network. November 17, 2011.Heinrichs, Allison M. “Pitt Study Says Helmeted Cyclists Are Hazardous to Your Health.” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review [Pittsburgh, PA] June 13, 2008. Gale Opposing Views in Context. Network. 15 November 2011. .Auman, KM, JA Kufera, MF Ballesteros, JE Smialek, and PC Dischinger. “Autopsy Study of Motorcycle Victims: The Effects of Maryland's Motorcycle Helmet Law of 1992.” American Journal of Public Health 92.8 (2002): 1352-355. Corporate source elite. Network. November 18. 2011.