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1) Re: 2009 House Bill 4747 (Repeal motorcycle helmet mandate ) [by cindagle on April 13, 2009]As a health and safety advocate I am appalled at this legislation. Michigan has a law that works. Leave it alone! As a parent, I am concerned about the message adults who choose unsafe behaviors i.e.; not wearing a helmet, drinking and driving, not wearing a seat belt, reckless driving, or speeding etc.are are giving to our children.The benefits of wearing helmets is long proven. Parents who are trying to get their kids to wear bicycle helmets, seatbelts and operate machinery in a safe manner will agree, seeing adults speeding down the highway on motorcylces in the name of individual freedom without a helmet makes their job more difficult. There is tons and tons of research that proves helmets save lives. Do they save all? Of course not! Do seatbelts save us in all cases? No, but the majority are helped. Tell a child that it is better to have a dead father than a live but injured one. Please do not repeal the Michigan safety laws that are working. In states that have repealed their helmet laws motorcycle deaths have increased, insurance rates have increased and not just for motorcylists. Repealing our helmet laws is an unwise decision. Adults always have the right to choose not wear a helmet legally or not. Legally condoning an unsafe behavior is like making suicide legal. Does having a law against suicide or assisted suicide stop it? No, but it tells people what we believe is the healthy and wise choice. Michigan has a responsibility to set an example for other states about safety and as more people ride motorcycles or scooters, due to the economy, repealing any safety law that is working does not make sense. I have many friends and relatives that are motocyclists, I also enjoy riding. I support helmet use. I want to encourage maintaining the current laws in Michigan to protect our kids and families. I do not want my loved ones making a choice to be unsafe as they ride or drive. Safety needs to be our prime concern. Driving is a privilege and not a right.
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You say that comparing children's seatbelts and adult choice on helmets is comparing apples and oranges, then you compare motorcyclists and pediestrians? LOL. Tell me, How many pedestrians are there compared to motorcyclists at any given time. As a matter of fact, all mobile persons including motorcyclists are pedestrians at one time or another including motorcyclists, but not all pedestrians are motorcyclists. Given any motorized transportation, motorcycles are the most dangerous form by the mile, or if comparing them to pedestrians, by the hour or mile. I have no problem with motorcyclists not wearing helmets. They know what the contents of their skull and their familys are worth. I just don't want to have to pay for their medical expenses, raise their family, or pay to keep them in a vegetative state for injuries that could have been prevented if they had used the safety equipment available. Add personal responsibility for these items to the bill and I will become a strong supporter.
PS-and not all motorcyclist that had head injuries while wearing a helmet, were wearing an Snell or DOT approved helmet. DOT and Snell stickers are available for sticking on any helmet at some motorcycle shops.
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[quote user="Rabidog"]you state that the issue is adult choice, yet you do not agree that the issue is freedom. In my mind they are the same, how are they not, to you?[/quote]
Freedom allows us to buy and ride motorcycles. With all freedoms come responsibility. We should have the right to choose to be responsible for our own safety, as long as we don't endanger others.
Does your insurance include PIP, personal injury protection? If so, is there a limit to it's maximum payout? Riders at this time are not required to have PIP.
You cannot ignore the fact that only 500 more pedestrians are killed annually than motorcycle riders, when there are millions more pedestrians than motorcycle riders. To do so would be disingenuous.
Insurance rates are determined by many factors; local, experience of riders, riders driving records, riders age, type of motorcycle, amount of protection and type being purchased, etc.. I think you would have a difficult time proving helmet laws are a determining factor at all in setting insurance rates.
I like your analogy with smokers. They too make a choice to live a riskier life. Maybe that's why some of them smoke filtered cigarettes. Sort of like a helmet on a cigarette.
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