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Protective headgear for cyclists

Protective headgear for cyclists Saturday, June 10, 2006 The state House took a detour around common sense Wednesday when it approved legislation that weakens Michigan's mandatory helmet law for motorcyclists. The governor should erect a stop sign in front of this ill-conceived measure when it reaches her desk. Helmets do save lives. Making the headgear optional is the wrong route to take. The bill passed in the House on a 66-37 vote. It lets riders age 21 and older go without helmets if they have been licensed to operate a motorcycle for at least two years or have taken a safety course. The legislation also requires riders to have $10,000 in insurance. The Senate, in its own bypass around reason, passed the legislation last year. Making helmets optional is about as logical as letting automobile drivers over age 21 opt out of wearing seat belts. They both are safety measures. The state proudly promotes its Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign for motorists. Lawmakers should try to similarly protect cyclists. Just as statistical data show that wearing seat belts saves lives, the same holds true for helmets. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that helmets reduce head injuries by 40 percent and deaths by 37 percent. Claims by helmet opponents that the headgear is virtually useless in crashes defies common sense and safety data. No one is saying a helmet is a guarantee against death or injury in an accident, but it can provide a measure of protection for both novice and experienced drivers and riders. The experiences of states that have repealed or relaxed their mandatory helmet laws in recent years offer a glimpse of what Michigan can expect it if follows that path. And it's not pretty. Kentucky, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Florida all saw helmet use decrease and motorcycle fatalities jump after loosening or scrapping helmet requirements. Louisiana returned to mandatory helmets two years ago after seeing fatalities double over a four-year period. Florida's motorcycle deaths jumped by 81 percent in the first three years after repealing its law in 2000. From 1997 to 1999, 515 bikers were killed, but 933 died from 2000 to 2002 after the helmet repeal. Supporters of a helmet repeal in Michigan say bike sales and tourism will increase if helmets are optional. That might be true, but economic incentives ought not trump safety concerns. Motorcycle ridership and deaths are up nationwide and in Michigan. Last year, 122 motorcycle riders were killed and 2,721 injured in the state. That's up from 81 deaths in 2004. Lawmakers shouldn't do anything that could make those numbers worse. A 2004 Michigan State Police Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) study estimated that a helmet repeal would result in 22 additional fatalities each year, along with 132 more incapacitating injuries and 610 other injuries. The helmet law is about a lot more than freedom to choose. It's a matter of public safety and can affect health-care costs. Requiring motorcyclists to carry $10,000 in personal injury insurance -- as the bill does -- is better than nothing but not nearly enough to cover the cost of treating serious head injuries. And in Michigan, the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association fund, which all the state's insured drivers and cyclists must pay into, has to kick in for coverage once medical bills reach a certain amount. According to the Insurance Institute of Michigan, motorcycle crashes account for a disproportionate share of money paid by the MCCA. While motorcyclists pay about 1.6 percent of the MCCA assessments, they account for 6.2 percent of all claims paid. If allowing motorcyclists to ride without helmets results in more severe or permanent injuries, it could put a strain on the MCCA fund and affect the amount all automobile insurance policyholders pay. A motorcyclist's freedom to ride without a helmet stops when it begins to affect those who don't ride. West Michigan representatives Glenn Steil Jr., R-Cascade; Judy Emmons, R-Sheridan; Dave Hildenbrand, R-Lowell; Fulton Sheen, R-Plainwell; William Van Regenmorter, R-Washington Twp.; and Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, voted for the repeal. Michigan is among 20 states that require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets. There is no good reason to head in a different direction. The governor should see that, even if the Legislature can't.

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