Lid law repeal sees more injuries in Michigan
Posted by Ben Baker on Oct 16th 2016
| Michigan's rider choice law is now four years old. The Great Lakes state's media, riders and medical people are still looking at the law and its effects. |
| In 2015, 138 people died in motorcycle wrecks according to one section of the report. Another section says 140 were killed in bike crashes. |
| The report totals 3,096 reported crashes and 347 were injured. Those are the highest totals in decades. |
| Some are not convinced, particularly the ABATE lobby. Jim Rhoades, ABATE's legislative director in Michigan, said the rights group would fight every attempt to reinstate the law. |
| ABATE of Michigan says the reports are cherry-picking data. "Additional claims are taken out of context and show a lack of integrity in their reporting. The claim that there was a 23% increase in motorcycle fatalities from 2014 to 2015 is misleading since they do not state that 2014 had the lowest number of motorcycle fatalities in ten years while 2015 had the highest number...' Thus the truth, buried in their report is that 2015 was normal," says the official ABATE Website |
| Study after study says states without helmet laws have higher fatality rates. "The percentage of people killed in motorcycle crashes in 2011 who were not wearing helmets is higher in states without a mandatory helmet law," says the National Conference of State Legislatures. |
| The American Journal of Surgery (paywall) published the most recent survey of Michigan biker crashes.The authors summarized the study this way: a "total of 345 patients were included in the study. Nonhelmeted riders increased from 7% to 28% after the repeal. Nonhelmeted crash scene fatalities were higher after the repeal (14% vs 68%). The nonhelmeted cohort had significantly higher in-patient mortality (10% vs 3%), injury severity score (19 vs 14.5) and abbreviated injury scale head (2.2 vs 1.3). Non-helmeted riders also had increased alcohol use, intensive care unit length of stay and need for mechanical ventilation. The median hospital cost for the non-helmeted cohort was higher (P < .05). |
| "Conclusions: The impact of the Michigan helmet law repeal continues to evolve. Three years after this legislative change, we are now observing increased injury severity score, higher in-patient mortality, and worse neurologic injury." |
| This is another study that adds to a growing mountain of evidence that helmets save lives. The Centers for Disease Control puts it this way: |
| Motorcycle crash deaths are costly, but preventable. The single most effective way for states to save lives and save money is a universal helmet law. Helmets saved an estimated 1,630 lives and $2.8 billion in economic costs in 2013. Helmets reduce the risk of death by 37%." |
| INSURANCE SPIKES |
| Thomas Trudeau replied to our earlier story on state helmet laws. "The repeal of Michigan's helmet law has caused biker's insurance rates to skyrocket, Michigan has an uninsured motorists fund that all drivers and riders have to contribute to, before repeal my bike insurance contribution was $10 now it's $600, my plpd (Public Liability and Property Damage insurance) for my scooter is $180 plus the $600 for the fund, all because of cost of catastrophic care for bikers who don't want to wear helmets. I, personally wouldn't be here if it weren't for a helmet, I will never ride without one, 4 skull fractures, both eye sockets broken, that was with the helmet which didn't fracture or come off, without that helmet my head would have been mush." |
| Steven Gursten is a lawyer in Michigan who handles wrecks. He said in a blog that fatal crashes would rise. He didn't make predictions on insurance, but did say medical costs would rise. If medical costs go up, it's a pretty sure bet that insurance costs will follow. |
| Did costs go up? Ted Roelofs in Bridge Magazine says yes. "The average hospital cost for non-helmeted riders was $27,760 – 32 percent higher than for those wearing helmets," he wrote. |
| ABATE says sheer volume of medical cost is blown out of proportion. "Motorcyclists represent approximately 5% of the catastrophic costs to the insurance industry while injured pedestrians and bicyclists use more than three times for medical costs and do not pay anything into the MCCA." |
| ABATE also says the increased insurance requirements (and the premiums for riders) are wrong. "The insurance industry continually hammers motorcycle riders on Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) coverage which ALL motorcycle riders are required to pay for. The fact is that motorcycle riders are NOT covered in a catastrophic accident unless the incident involves an auto or truck. There is no coverage in a single vehicle accident, if another motorcycle is involved, or if a cyclist hits a deer or other animal." |
| Michigan has a partial law. You can ride without a helmet if you are over 21 and meet other requirements. |