With the congressional forced relaxation of the enforcement of Department of Transportation standards many states are repealing the motorcycle helmet laws. Kansas was among the first to do so. An evaluation of the incidence of head injuries and comparison of the number of such injuries during the summer months (July, August and September) before the repeal and the same 3-month period after repeal of the law was completed. This evaluation along with helmet usage rates was undertaken in Kansas to evaluate the effect of the repeal of this law. Severity of the head injuries was evaluated by the Abbreviated Injury Scale and total severity of each individual accident was evaluated in the Injury Severity Score.

Helmet usage during this time period decreased from greater than 95% to less than 10% on urban streets and less than 50% on major highways. An in-depth evaluation of the subsequent injury patterns and severity of injury will be discussed.