SPRINGFIELD MO -- Safety advocates encourage Gov. Nixon to veto Senate Bill 202, thereby continuing Missouri's helmet mandate, but there's also concern that word of a veto won't get out fast enough to protect motorcyclists.  Safety advocates say they're already seeing more motorcycle riders without helmets, a sign some of them may not realize it has not and may never be signed into law.
Motorcycle rider Grady Kersh wears a helmet not only because it's the law, but because he chooses to. 
“When you're going down the road debris can hit you in the face,” he said. 
Thousands of motorcyclers are just itching to take that helmet off. And many of them may think they now have the go-ahead to do so, since lawmakers voted to repeal Missouri's current helmet mandate. 
The problem is, Gov. Jay Nixon hasn't signed the repeal into law, and may very well veto it.  Those in favor of the helmet mandate worry many bikers will simply hear it passed through the Legislature and assume they can take their helmets off. 
“I have had experience with two employees that have had serious accidents and both would not be alive without helmets,” said Gary Vass, owner of Super Scooter Shop.
It's also alarming for supporters of the helmet law because a recent survey of 10 states found, when the helmet laws were repealed, helmet-use rates dropped from 99 percent to 50 percent and motorcycle fatalities increased significantly. 
“When they are not wearing helmets, head injuries are the leading causes of death,” said Sgt. Dan Bracker, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Troop D.
Even if word of the repeal gets around faster than word of a possible veto, state troopers say bikers better be ready to follow the law -- no matter what it is. 
“If this passes, we will enforce the law they have subscribed to us,” said Bracker.
If the governor signs the law, it would still require helmets on interstate highways, but bikers could take them off on rural roads and city streets. 
Opponents of the helmet law have cited difficulty seeing in their peripheral vision, difficulty hearing and personal choice as reasons helmets should not be mandated.
Here is a link to Senate Bill 202.