Tagged: motorcycle helmet law

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Members of Michigan's insurance and medical industries as well as some rider groups are calling on lawmakers and Gov. Rick Snyder to reinstate the state's mandatory motorcycle helmet law.

The group met at the Capitol Wednesday. They say modifying the law to allow people over the age of 21 to ride helmetless is costing the state lives.

A recent study by a University of Michigan researcher says 26 fewer people would have died last year if all riders wore helmets.

From the time he began running for office, Governor Rick Snyder has said that he was in favor of common sense solutions to improve life in our state -- and that he intended to use “relentless positive action” to make them happen.

He hasn’t been afraid to push for drastic changes. He got the legislature to change the business tax and enact a new tax on pensions. He signed right to work into law last December, and got lawmakers to approve a new Rapid Transit Authority.

Some people approve of some or all of this; others are bitterly opposed. But the fact is that we don’t know exactly what effect any of these moves will have. It is too soon to tell.

But the governor signed another bill into law last year, and we do now have solid evidence about its effects.  It has turned out to be a disaster that has cost human lives and suffering.

The governor’s decision is also costing money. In fact, the law he signed is going to cost us all, if not in blood, in cold, hard cash, added to the medical bills of everyone with health insurance.

We are talking about the bill repealing the motorcycle helmet law last April. The early numbers are in, and there were 20 more motorcycle fatalities last year than the year before, and not wearing helmets was clearly the reason.

The group that led the charge to repeal Michigan’s motorcycle helmet requirement says the state has not suffered a rash of biker deaths in the past six months.

That is how long it has been since the law was changed.

American Bikers Aiming Toward Education (ABATE) point to state data between January and the end of August.

But state officials say it is really too early to tell what the effect has been.

Anne Readett of the state’s Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) said the data is provisional and incomplete.

“We, in our office, are not going to speculate one way or the other until we know that we have final data to look at,” she said.

The OHSP did release up-to-date numbers showing biker deaths slightly up since last year. The department also said there has been a 14 percent increase in incapacitating injuries.

Readett said they won’t be able to reach any good conclusions until at least spring, when they analyze the entire year.

A new federal study says universal motorcycle helmet laws increase helmet use and can lead to cost savings.

Motorcyclists that died in crashes between 2008 and 2010 in states with partial helmet laws were 5-times less likely to be wearing a helmet compared to riders in states with universal helmet laws. 

Rebecca Naumann is an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control, and is the lead author of the study.  She says the old helmet law in Michigan was a cost-saver.

Time is running out for Governor Snyder to decide if he’ll sign a major change to Michigan’s motorcycle helmet law.

The governor has until Monday to decide if he will OK the change which would allow riders over 21 to ride without a helmet for the first time since the 1970’s.

Rusty Bongard is the spokesman for ABATE, a group of Michigan bikers who have  been lobbying for the helmet law’s repeal.   He says they’re not just waiting to see if the governor will sign the helmet bill into law.