Repeal of motorcycle helmet law in Michigan is disappointing

AAA Michigan says it is extremely disappointed that legislation which allows some motorcyclists to ride without a helmet on the state's roadways has been signed into law by Governor Rick Snyder. Public Act 98, which has now come into effect, is poor public policy and will increase motorcycle fatalities and injuries, AAA Michigan reports. The repeal erases more than three decades of Michigan's mandatory helmet law. The new law allows motorcyclists to ride without a helmet if they have a $20,000 medical poli
April 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
4939 AAA Michigan says it is extremely disappointed that legislation which allows some motorcyclists to ride without a helmet on the state's roadways has been signed into law by Governor Rick Snyder.  Public Act 98, which has now come into effect, is poor public policy and will increase motorcycle fatalities and injuries, AAA Michigan reports.

The repeal erases more than three decades of Michigan's mandatory helmet law. The new law allows motorcyclists to ride without a helmet if they have a $20,000 medical policy, have had the cycle endorsement for at least two years, or completed a motorcycle safety course.

The repeal of the motorcycle helmet law will result in at least 30 additional motorcycle fatalities each year, along with 127 more incapacitating injuries and $129 million in added economic costs to Michigan residents. This analysis by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning is based on the experience of other states where similar measures have been enacted. As evidenced by increased medical costs passed on to taxpayers, motorcycle deaths and long-term catastrophic injuries are on the rise.

Motorcycle crashes account for a disproportionate share of money paid out of the 4927 Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA), a fund which is supported by a surcharge on every auto insurance policy in Michigan. Although motorcyclists represent 1.9 per cent of the assessments paid into the MCCA, they account for five perent of all money paid out and seven per cent of all claims reported. Since its inception in 1978, MCCA has reimbursed member insurers more than $321 million for 712 motorcycle injury claims exceeding the threshold.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Quality public transport systems key to safety, says report
    February 9, 2015
    A new report, Traffic Safety on Bus Priority Systems, produced by Embarq with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, argues the case that investment in high quality public transport systems in developing world cities can help achieve significant traffic safety benefits, while meeting the growing mobility needs of city residents. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 1.2 million people die on the world’s roads each year, and traffic crashes could become the fifth leading cause of death by
    Read More
  • Joining old and new in Canada’s Highway 407
    June 17, 2016
    David Arminas visits Canada’s Highway 407 ETR to see how the concession is working and hear about new arrangements for the roadway’s extension. The Toronto region is North America’s eighth largest metropolitan area and its roads become notoriously congested. In 1997 Highway 407, a 68km concrete toll motorway which skirts the northern edge of Toronto, was opened and initially operated by the province and CHIC - a consortium of four leading Ontario-based companies. Finance came from the Ontario Financing Auth
    Read More
  • FIA to campaign for the protection of vulnerable road users
    April 1, 2016
    The publication of the European Commission’s 2015 provisional road safety figures leaves no room for complacency, says the FIA, as they show an increase in fatalities compared to the previous year. Even in 2014, there was only a 0.6 per cent reduction and it had been the first year in a long time without a significant reduction. The announcement confirms stagnation for the second consecutive year, which brings the EU further away from the goal of halving road deaths by 2020. Jacob Bangsgaard, FIA Region
    Read More
  • Is fare-free transit taking us for a ride?
    August 11, 2022
    More cities around the world are trialling fare-free public transit schemes. Do they work and are they sustainable? Andrew Stone puts absolutely no money on his travelcard and jumps on board
    Read More

Highlighted Content