Helmet laws are suggestive of a societal trend toward the increased formal control of risky behaviors. Applying Tittle's integrated model, this case study sees the intersection of federal cost recovery interests, social solidarity concerns, and views of motorcyclists as “social dynamite” as setting the stage for motorcycle safety issues to become constructed as social problems. A governmental bureaucracy has led numerous helmet law campaigns. Financial burden and public safety arguments are used to justify helmet restrictions. A countermovement argues that helmet laws could lead to a slippery slope of declining freedoms. Implications of the debates between opposing positions are raised.
ABATE of New York. (2006). American bikers aimed toward education. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from http://www.abateny.org
2.
ABATE of Oregon. (2006). What is ABATE? Retrieved July 18, 2006, from http://www.abateoforegon.net
3.
ABATE of South Carolina. (2006). ABATE of South Carolina is bikers rights. Retrieved July 18, 2006, from http://www.abatesc.com/about.php
4.
Adams, J. (2001). Risk (5th ed.). London: Routledge.
5.
Allstot, J. (2005, March 8). Helmets criticized. Lincoln Journal Star, p. 5B.
6.
Barbeau, E.M., Leavy-Sperounis, A., & Balbach, E.D. (2004). Smoking, social class, and gender: What can public health learn from the tobacco industry about disparities in smoking?Tobacco Control, 13(2), 115-120.
7.
Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Towards a new modernity. London: Sage.
8.
Becker, H. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the sociology of deviance . New York: Free Press.
9.
Cohen, S. (1972). Folk devils and moral panics: The creation of the mods and rockers. London: MacGibbon & Kee.
10.
Cushiest rides on two wheels. (2005, August 5). New York Times, p. F9.
11.
Cyclist's holiday. (1947, July). Life, 23, 31.
12.
Du Bos, C. (2003, April 1). Born to be riled. Gambit Weekly. Retrieved July 22, 2006, from http://www.bestofneworleans.com
13.
Durkheim, E. (1947). The division of labor in society. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
14.
Erikson, K. (1966). Wayward puritans: A study in the sociology of deviance. New York: John Wiley.
15.
Evans, W.N., Farrelly, M.C., & Montgomery, E. (1999). Do workplace smoking bans reduce smoking?American Economic Review, 89, 729-747.
16.
Giddens, A. (1999). Risk and responsibility. Modern Law Review, 62(1), 1-10.
17.
Glassbrenner, D. (2005). Safety belt use in 2005—Use rates in the states and territories (NHTSA research note DOT 809 970). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.
18.
Glassner, B. (1999). The culture of fear: Why Americans are afraid of the wrong things. New York: Basic books.
19.
Goode, E. (2005). Drugs in American society (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
20.
Hense, R. (2005, March 9). “Fore!” not safe enough. Lincoln Journal Star, p. 7B.
21.
High gear: The bike-helmet battle. (1988, December). Time, 132, 65.
22.
Kraska, P.B. (1997). The military as drug police: Exercising the ideology of war. In L. K. Gaines & P. B. Kraska (Eds.), Drugs, crime, and justice: Contemporary perspectives (pp. 297-320). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
23.
Kraus, J.F., Peek, C., McArthur, D.L., & Williams, A. (1994). The effect of the 1992 California motorcycle helmet usage law on motorcycle crash fatalities and injuries. Journal of the American Medical Association, 272, 1506-1511.
24.
Lavigne, I. (1996). Hells angels: Into the abyss. New York: Harper.
25.
Lorance, D. (2005, March 6). Just one life is worth it. Lincoln Journal Star, p. 9C.
26.
Magid, B. (1963, September). Danger rides two wheels. Parents' Magazine, 38, 68-69.
27.
Missouri: Right to carry concealed guns. (2003, September 12). New York Times, p. A29.
28.
Moore, Y.S. (2005, March 11). If we pay, we say. Lincoln Journal Star, p. 9B.
29.
Murray, W. (1965, November). Hell's Angels. Saturday Evening Post, 28, 32-39.
30.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ( 1980). A report to the Congress of the effect of motorcycle helmet use law repeal: A case for helmet use. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.
31.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ( 1993). Without helmets we all pay the price (DOT HS 808 601) . Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.
32.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ( 1996, February). Report to the Congress: Benefits of safety belts and motorcycle helmets (DOT HS 808 347). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.
33.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ( 2004, April). Traffic safety facts: Motorcycle helmet use laws . Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.
34.
Neergaard, L. (2006, June 28). Only smoke-free places protect nonsmokers—Surgeon general. Lincoln Journal Star, p. 3A.
35.
Nohas, D.K. (2005, December 11). Limits on registered sex offenders are also about where the law can't go. New York Times, p. L10.
36.
Preusser, D.F., Hedlund, J.H., & Ulmer, R.G. (2000). Evaluation of motorcycle helmet law repeal in Arkansas and Texas (DOT HS 809 131). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.
37.
Senator introduces national helmet law. (1989). Cycle, 40, 22.
38.
Spitzer, S. (1975). Towards a Marxian theory of deviance. Social Problems, 22, 638-651.
39.
Tittle, C. (1994). The theoretical bases for inequality in formal social control. In G. Bridges & M. Myers (Eds.), Inequality, crime, and social control (pp. 21-52). Boulder, CO: Westview .
40.
Turk, A. (1976). Law as a weapon in social conflict. Social Problems, 23, 276-291.
41.
Vandello, J.A., & Cohen, D. (1999). Patterns of individualism and collectivism across the United States. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 77, 279-292.
42.
Williams, C. (1995, September). The next era: A helmet law history . Motorcycle Riders Foundation White Pages, 3, 1-7.
43.
Yates, B. (1999). Outlaw machine: Harley-Davidson and the search for the American soul. New York: Broadway Books.
44.
Youngblood, E. (1998, May). The wrong side of rights. American Motorcyclist, 52, 14.
