Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed legislation Thursday that would have relaxed Missouri's law mandating helmets for motorcycle riders. Nixon said he did so because keeping the helmet requirement was safer and more cost-effective for the state.

The law would have allowed people 21 and older to ride without helmets on all roads except interstate highways.

The governor's office received more than 1,000 letters and e-mails, mostly urging Nixon to sign the bill. MoDOT launched a poll in an effort to persuade Nixon to veto the bill.

Bram Williams of Moberly rides his 1987 Harley to local bar Bud's Place with a helmet, regardless of the law.

"I'm going to say with age comes wisdom," Williams said. "Most people as they get older realize the vulnerabilities and try and protect themselves and the people around them, so I would most probably wear it for that fact."

In a press release about the veto, Nixon said that when Texas repealed its helmet laws, motorcycle fatalities increased 31 percent.