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Motorcycle enthusiast Vince Cappo admits having his helmet on probably saved him from a serious injury, but said each rider should make a choice as to whether to wear one.

Cappo, who works for the county's Emergency Management Agency, was involved in a serious accident on his motorcycle, and said he will always wear his helmet but added that riders should be able to choose.

"I'm very pro-helmet," he said. "I basically think it should be the rider's choice."

"(Wearing a helmet) did prevent a major head injury," Cappo said of his accident. "It kept my brains in one bucket."

The state Senate approved changing the state's helmet law, allowing riders over 21 with two years of experience to decide whether they should wear a helmet or not.

Ford City funeral director Bob Welch said he's not sure if he'll continue to wear a helmet if the state no longer requires it.

"I think helmets are a good idea, but we have the freedom (to decide)," he said. "I don't think the government has a right to tell us what to do."

Welch said helmets aren't nearly as important to rider safety as making sure people can see motorcycles on the highway.

He suggested that every rider should take a rider safety course.

"They teach you how to be visible," he said.

The sense of freedom is why most riders say they choose not to don a helmet.

"If we had the right, we wouldn't wear ours," said Rebecca Busch of Busch's Chop Shop along Route 422. "We go to Ohio a lot just because you can ride over there without a helmet."

Busch said it's hard to explain the feeling of freedom in riding without a helmet, but said she enjoys it more.

A rider is going to be hurt regardless of whether he or she is wearing a helmet if an accident occurs, she said.

But the severity of those injuries, particularly head injuries, are much worse without a helmet, according to Armstrong County Coroner Robert Bower.

He has been to accident scenes where motorcycle riders weren't wearing helmets, he said. Some survive, many do not, and most have lasting effects after a serious accident, Bower said.

"I think there's more negatives than positives," he said of loosening the state's 35-year-old helmet law. "I would not favor overturning the helmet law."

Bower said he is convinced helmets save lives.

"I've had more (accident) scenes I didn't have to go to (as coroner) because of the law."

The law still has to meet approval in the state House.

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