Persuasive Speech Outline
ALL 50 STATES SHOULD HAVE MANDATORY MOTORCYCLE HELMET LAWS
TOPIC: Mandatory motorcycle helmet laws
PURPOSE: To persuade the audience that all 50 states should enact and enforce a mandatory motorcycle helmet law.
THESIS STATEMENT: Mandatory helmet laws save lives and dollars.
INTRODUCTION
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Did you know that only 19 states and the District of Columbia have laws in place that require all motorcycle riders to wear a helmet? 19!?
28 states have laws covering some riders, usually people younger than 18.
3 states (Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire) that do not have any helmet requirements at all. I find it odd that we all are required by law to wear our seatbelts and put our children in safety
They analyzed a tremendous amount of data from numerous government sources spanning 2008-2010 and showed us findings like these:
B. Motorcyclists account for 14% of road traffic deaths even though motorcycles constitute just 3% of registered vehicles
C. Economic costs saved in states with a universal helmet law were, on average, nearly four times greater than in states without such a law.
D. The CDC report concluded with this rather lengthy but impactful statement:
a. “Helmet use is estimated to prevent 37% of fatalities among motorcycle operators and 41% of fatalities among passengers (4).
NHTSA estimates that in 2010, helmet use saved the lives of 1,544 motorcyclists, and an additional 709 lives might have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets (NHTSA, unpublished data, 2012).
With motorcycle ownership at an all-time high . . . motorcyclerelated deaths and their associated costs are expected to remain at high levels unless more effective protective measures are implemented

(10). Helmets are proven to save lives and money, and universal helmet laws are the most effective way to increase helmet use (3).”

CONCLUSION
Transition: I hope you agree with them, and me that a mandatory motorcycle helmet laws work and should be enacted in all 50 states.
I. The history of changes in the laws have given us real data that demonstrates the correlation between laws, helmet wearing and lives lost
II. While I