Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on March 16, 2005

Click here to view bill details.

Thank you Rep. Casperson! As a motorcyclist and member of ABATE of MI, I am so pleased to have MY state representative fighting to restore FREEDOM in a state where it is all too rare. I am spending my winter in Florida, riding my motorcycle as often as I can, and always WITHOUT A HELMET! I hope this bill will succeed and Governor Granholm will sign it. If not, I am strongly considering FL as a year round home rather than remaining in Michigan. Our beautiful state is in danger of financial chaos. Motorcycle riders can help! It is clearly established that one of the reasons out of state bikers refuse to ride in Michigan is because of the archaic helmet law. Space on a bike is limited. Imagine having to give up that valuable bag space to carry a helmet only for riding in Michigan! Add to that the number of Michigan bikers who purposely LEAVE Michigan to ride (and spend money!) in helmet free states. It is only common sense. Modify Michigan's mandatory helmet rule now! Sincerely yours, Al Salmi

I would like to know why the house reffered this bill to the Committee on Transportation? If they passed it last year they shouldn't have to let it set in limbo. Wait, the Senate did that last year and the House passed it. Maybe this year it's the Houses turn. Let's get this passed and give it to the Governor and see where she stands. Maybe I'll vote for her again and maybe I won't. I enjoy my riding in free States and would like to think my State is free also.

Senators, First of all I'd like to applaud you for standing up for common sense. Wearing a helmet has statistically saved no one. For every potental save there is another who will crash because they didn't see a car next to them or overheated their brain. I usually wear a helmet but when the temp. is in the 90's and I get a heat stroke type headache it's coming off. You didn't tell the state not to wear a helmet but that they can choose. I've ridden motorcycles for over 38 years and know all to well the real danger is untrained riders. There are numerous rider training courses going on all over the state. As a director of a Harley Davidson Owners group of nearly 400 people, we advocate safety at every event, meeting and newsletter. We have safety training classes throughout the summer. From 250,000 + miles of safe riding, I am aware of the dangers of riding and accept it. Check the states around us, the death rate has not risen and, in some cases it has dropped with the elimination of helmet laws. The MOST experenced riders agree, these laws do nothing to help anyone. Thanks again for your common sense, I hope the Governor will see this from experience and not the Lobbyists. Regards, Larry Vigneau

Let all of us who ride take note on the people who voted nay on our helmet bill. Remember them, and then we together can vote nay on their re-election. Why is it when they want to raise their salary or the sin tax, it changes overnight and signed. This has been going on too long, being passed around. We can get this through if we all let our voices be heard. Govenor listen to the people of our beautiful state who actually ride. I would be more than happy to take you for a ride with and without a helmet. To show you the difference and I am sure then you will pass this Bill. Thank You Jeff

If Granholm signs this bill she will have my vote which she did not have in 2002. If she vetos it we have to do everything in our power to keep her from getting re-elected and we have to keep Senator Nancy Cassis from getting elected.

Michigan motorcyclists have had their freedom of choice raped in the name of safety WAY TOO LONG! Since 1969, that's 36 years too many. All of our neighboring states got rid of theirs in the 70's and have had none of the problems that the insurance companies claim. If they did there would be no helmet choice states, just as there are no seat-belt choice states or DUI choice states. Since the insurance companies have had it their way for the past 36 years, it's time for the people to have their 36 year turn. Pass the bill now and in 2041 maybe then we can study crash data and make a decision. Until then I don't want to any insurance company bitching, in fact I don't even want to hear it then.

Helmets do not save lives. On some occasions the added weight of a helmet on impact can actually CAUSE a neck injury. That's what killed Dale Earnhardt. Helmets are only approved to be safe at speeds of a whopping 13.6 mph. All the states that border Michigan are choice states. They have not experienced the lies that the insurance companies claim, if they did there would not be any helmet choice states. Therefore helmet laws are nothing more than a mandatory dress code. The Nazi's had a mandatory dress code. I don't think anyone choose to wear the gaudy yellow star.

I should point out to the Governor, the Representatives, and anyone who may be against this legislation that if this bill passes as written, Michigan would still have more helmet restrictions that our neighboring states. Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin only require that riders and passengers under 18 wear helmets. There are no extra insurance requirements. Illinois has no helmet requirements at all. To ride helmet free in Michigan you would have to be at least 21 years of age. All teenagers would still have to wear helmets. You would also have to have either two years of riding experience or pass a state certified riders safety course to ride helmet free. Furthermore you would also be required to carry a minimum of $10,000 of personal injury insurance to ride helmet free. So there is the answer to your "I don't want my insurance rates to go up" arguement. This is not at all unreasonable, and it is more than fair. It is time for Michigan to get out of the dark ages and join the MAJORITY of states that allow helmet choice.

Let's have a choice whether to wear a helmet. Let's also have a choice to pay for insurance coverage. Does the MCCA lawfully take our money for motorcycles and give no coverage?

I have no idea what the data is about injuries riding with or without a helmet, but I do know that when someone pulled out in front of my son on his motorcyle the helmet saved him from death. The three people that I new in high school who died from a motorcycle accident all died from injuries sustained to the head in a no-helmet state. I would rather have people safe and sound than have the revenue from motorcyclist willing to come to Michigan because they can ride helmetless. However, I do agree that vision is hampered by the wearing of some helmets. I am required to wear a seatbelt. I am required to have my child in a safety seat and I see no reason to change the law. I guess if you are willing to show me stats from other states that show no increase of injuries from riding helmetless and are willing to have a million dollar policy coverage just in case, I would think about chaning my position. As it stands in Michigan if you are involved in an accident with a car, the car's insurance is responsible not matter who is at fault. It seems unfair to cause me raised rates because of your choices.

This country was founded by people that left Europe so they could have the freedom to choose the religion they followed. Since that time those in power continue to take away our freedom to choose for ourselves. As an adult with 40 years of motorcycling around this country I feel that I can make my own choice on whether or not I should wear a helmet on my bike. Whichever I choose is MY decision and not someone elses. Those that have been trying to force this on me do not have the knowledge or experience that I have to make this decision for me. They continue to use hysteria to scare people into continuing a bad law. This law has kept billions of dollars from this state over the years. Motorcyclists stay away because they don't want to buy a helmet JUST to go through Michigan. It is much easier to go around in the FREE states that surround us. It is time for Michigan to join the other 30 states that have adults smart enough to make their own choices.

Michigan has a crummy auto insurance system. Although "no-fault" was created to reduce rates, the opposite occurred. Costs increased and rates jumped significantly. In addition to being a crummy, high-cost system, no-fault also encourages nanny-statism. And your opinion is representative of that. I really don't give a tinker's "damn" whether you think I should wear a seat belt or a helmet, quit smoking, become a tea totaler or whatever else may not appeal to your preferences. They are your preferences, and it isn't your place to determine mine. If you're concerned about insurance rates, fine. Dump the crummy system and return to a fault-based system. Safe drivers and riders benefit. Poor and reckless drivers pay more. In other words, don't base opinions that impact my freedom on bad law; change the law. Freedom to chose one's risk profile is part and parcel of being an American; no-fault insurance is not. I relocated from Michigan to Colorado. Last year we repealed the no-fault insurance scam and returned to a fault-based system. Rates dropped significantly. In fact, my motorcycle insurance runs about twenty bucks a month. Our state requires that eye protection be worn while riding a motorcycle. That's it. No helmets, no life-jackets, no parachutes, no GPS, not even Chapstick. I can tell you from personal experience that none of the terrible things that are supposed to happen when a helmet law is repealed actually do (look at Florida's experience). After all, if the carnage that Big Insurance claims will happen was actually happening, my insurance rates would probably be a little higher than twenty bucks.

Everybody supposedly knows somebody, who knows somebody, who's 3rd cousin on their mothers side was saved by a helmet. Yet STASTICAL DATA, you know actual facts, show no such increase in injuries/fatalities when a state allows helmet choice. If there were increases then no state would allow helmet choice. Plain and simple. Like the last logger on stated the problem is no-fault. $20 a month in helmet choice Colorado. That's $240 a year. I pay $750 a year in mandatory helmet Michigan! That's more than triple! There is a bill (HB 4511) that would open the books to audit the MCCA fund. Look it up, they are the one's you should be angry with.

This bill would audit the MCCA fund. This REALLY needs to be done in this state. The only thing I like about Granholm is that she has the guts to stand-up to insurance companies. That is the only chance that helmet choice has at becoming a reality in our state.

It is illegal to wear a helmet while driving a car. Why? The reason given is that helmets impare your hearing and periphal vision. I guess that you don't need those while riding a motorcycle. The number one cause of death in a car accident is head trauma. The number one cause of death in a motorcycle accident is mutiple blunt force trauma, which means that even if you do not have a head injury there is some much bodily damage that you are likely to die of internal bleeding, organ failure, or other complications. The insurance companies will claim head injury as cause of death even if all these other factors are present. Helmet laws are nothing more than a control device to discourage riding. If you are hit by a car on a bike (because I didn't see him officer) you are likely to be seriously injured or killed wheather you are wearing a helmet or not. Therefore the insurance companies see motorcycles as a liability. When a state repeals its helmet law motorcycle tourism and sales increase. Therefore there are more bikes (or as the insurance companies see it more liabilities) on the road. This is what they don't want. Anybody who doesn't see that really needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

While some people are whining about their insurance rates going up if the helmet law is modified, and the insurance companys are guarrenting an increase if the bill goes in effect,I keep remembering that my rates on my bike have increased 100% over the last 4 years, and 35% on my 4 wheeled vehicles. I also recall what one of the Senators stated during SB297 voting on 3-17-2005, that effective 7-1-05 MCCA fees will increase to 141.00 per vehicle. Hmmm, I think the insurance companys will continue to srews us irregardless of modification of the hemet bill.

I had a really good friend who was involved in a accident on his motorcycle with a car. He was wearing a helmet. he laid his bike down to try and avoid the accident, the back of the helmet hit the pavement he went to the hospital (intensive care for 2 days) then while he was in a therapy (muscular) session he passed away from a cerebral embolisum. Do you think that the hospital,doctor or pharmacy waived their bills because he passed away and was wearing a helmet? Somehow I doubt it. As far as insurance, rates will continue to increase no matter what, due to the MCCA fund. one more thing no state has EVER increased their rates because of a helmet choice bill passing, And no state has EVER lowered their rates when that choice has been taken away. If you want to see stats then please go to the following web site, www.abateofmichigan.org. Please look into this, get the facts, and then make an informed decision. RoadTrip

10 years ago my job transfered me to Ft.Wayne. I could not be happier. The cost of my auto insurance was cut in half and I now have helmet choice. Indiana has allowed helmet choice since 1976. Our riders safety program began in 1979. Since then our motorcycle accident rate has dropped 65%. This is 3 years after helmet choice went into effect. This is proof positive that riders education, not helmet laws, save lives. Since I only live about an hour from Michigan I would love to come up and ride (and spend money) in your state, but I refuse to do so until your law is changed. Hopefully Michigan will realize that there is a lot of tourism revenue to be made by allowing helmet choice. Good luck Perry, Ft.Wayne

There are actually 11 schools in the Big 10 conference. schools in helmet choice states: 1)Penn. St. 2)Ohio. St. 3)Indiana 4)Perdue 5)Northwestern 6)Illinois 7)Iowa 8)Minnesota 9)Wisconsin schools that are not in helmet choice states: 1)Michigan 2)Michigan St. We are the only state in our conference that doesn't allow helmet choice. It's so embarassing to live here. Why are we the only ones being left in the dark ages?

First of all, if you are dumb enough to believe that the lawmakers in Lansing care about your safety, you really need to check yourself. If they cared about safety, why then did they cut the riders safety program in 2003? Answer given; to save taxpayers money. Truth; the program is payed for by motorcycle plate renewal, not taxpayer dollars. Thankfully the program was reinstated in 2004. STASTICAL DATA from all 50 states proves that rider education and driver awareness are what save lives, not helmet laws. People are guilty of making emotional decisions on certain subjects, we all have done it. Helmet laws are one of those subjects. I myself used to have this take on the helmet law: So what if it is safer, it should be a choice, not a law. I still feel that way about the seat-belt law. However comparing seat-belts to helmets is an apples to oranges comparison. Seat-belts, more often than not, save lives. This is not the case with helmets. That's why all 50 states have seat-belt laws, and only 20 have helmet laws. Most people have not studied accident data, therefore they assume that helmets are safer. I can understand why someone would assume that, it sounds logical. However there is no evidence to support that. In fact, helmet choice states have a slightly lower accident/fatality rate than mandatory helmet states. Why? There are several reasons. D.O.T. approved helmets are only certified safe at speeds of 13.6 mph. There are some cases that have proven the helmet to be the cause of death. How? Simple physics. Weight X velocity = force. Therefore a 4lb helmet X a 50mph impact = a 200lb noose strapped around your neck. The number one cause of death in a motorcycle accident is multiple blunt force trauma, which may or may not include a head injury. Therefore even if there is no head injury, the body damage is unsurvivable. The fact is that people who do not ride a motorcycle have not studied the facts, therefore they have emotional opinions about helmet laws. That's understandable. However when you look at the facts, you can clearly see that helmet laws do not save lives. Rider education and driver awareness are what make motorcycle riding safer.

FREEDOM OF CHOICE. That alone should be all the debating you need to do. After all this is America, the land of the free. REMEMBER?!

We have 2 loggers on who have relocated to other states. One moved to Indiana, the other to Colorado. They both have stated how wonderful there lives have become since leaving Michigan. Does anybody see a big problem with that? Maybe we should make Michigan a better place to live. Allowing helmet choice would be a good start.

From what I have read everyone agrees that no-fault is bad. Maybe we should write our Governor, our Senators, and state Reps and tell them how we feel. Check out HB 4511. It doesn't eliminate no-fault, but it is a step in the right direction.

No-fault is bad, there's no question about that. However Illinois is a no-fault state. They are also the Grand Champions of helmet choice. While Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin amended their helmet laws in the late 70's, Illinois never enacted one to begin with. My friend who lives in the Chicagoland area pays half as much for auto insurance as we do here in Michigan. Why? Lobbying cost money, a lot of money. Insurance companies overcharge us to lobby against our freedom. All those who complain about insurance rates increasing if Michigan allows helmet choice are complaining to the wrong people. Helmet choice doesn't cause rate increases, lobbiests do! All of our neighboring states allow helmet choice and guess what; THEY ALL PAY ABOUT HALF AS MUCH AS WE DO FOR INSURANCE! Helmet choice is not the problem, LOBBIESTS ARE!

I am a freedom loving American. I support the person (not the party) that best supports my issues and concerns. All the Senators who voted no on SB 297 will NEVER get my vote on election day. I have a bumper sticker that reads "vote freedom first". That's how I choose to live.

"Those who are willing to give up freedom and liberty for safety and security deserve neither." Benjamin Franklin "I do not believe in a government that tries to protect us from ourselves." Ronald Reagan Helmet laws seem pretty anti-American to me.

While its good to voice your opinion on this site, it is far more powerful to send your Representative a letter/email/fax/phone call letting them know you support the passage of this bill and expect their support in this matter. This kind of activity goes along way--don't forget to send a similar message to the Governor.

I'm glad your son is O.K., however you stated yourself that SOMEONE ELSE pulled out in front of HIM. What would be the better option, what occured, or your son riding helmet free and the car driver seeing your son and not pulling out in front of him in the first place? This is why rider education and driver awareness are the key to saving lives, not helmet laws. As far as the helmet saving your son's life, maybe, maybe not. The doctor is going to tell you that reguardless. Doctors, like insurance companies, don't like to see motorcycles on the road. Therefore they will discourage riding any way they can.

I have a friend who lives in helmet choice Illinois. He and his girlfriend went for a ride. He CHOOSE not to wear a helmet, she CHOOSE to wear one. A car driver blew through a stop sign and T-boned them on the right side. They both suffered broken right legs, however she also suffered a broken neck. Why? The added weight of the helmet acted as a noose creating extra force, therefore breaking her neck. Thank God she came through. She could have died, or worse been paralyzed, BECAUSE SHE WAS WEARING A HELMET.

Saying that wearing a helmet makes you safe is like saying that holding a scalpel makes you a surgeon. Education and experience makes safe motorcyclists; not some lump of fiberglass, styrofoam, and padding...

Michigan has had a helmet law since 1969, that's 36 years. Therefore no one under 40 can remember Michigan allowing helmet choice. A whole generation grew up ASSUMING wearing helmets on motorcycles was normal and the right thing to do. People who don't ride, who grew up here are shocked to see helmetless riders when they go out of state. It's not normal to them. The oposite is true in our neighboring states. Unlike here in Michigan, the non-riding populus thinks that wearing a helmet should be a choice not a law. You never hear anybody complaining that their state ALLOWS helmet choice. If this bill passes and gets signed into law (hopefully it will be soon) the non-riding populus of this state will be shocked at first. The liberal media will point out only the negatives, never the positives. Then a few weeks later the non-riders will have forgotten all about it. Those who do ride however will remember those who supported it, those who did not, and come election day excersize their right to vote accordingly. Years will pass, accident and fatality rates will not change, and helmet choice will seem normal in Michigan just as it is in our neighboring states.

I am sick and tired of hearing "better luck next year." There is no next year, the time is now! If the Governor vetos the bill, and gets re-elected, we're screwed until 2011. If she vetos the bill and Nancy Cassis wins the Govennor's election, we're screwed until 2011. The outcome of this bill may ultimately determine my future as a Michigan resident and business owner. If this bill gets vetoed, I'm strongly considering early retirement and relocating to Florida.

I am a woman who rides a motorcycle. I fully support this legislation. Unfortunatly I fear it will not pass. I had noticed something that was rather alarming to me. Although this bill was introduced by the Republican party it had about equal support and opposition from both parties. There were 34 senators who voted on this bill. 25 were men 9 were women. 18 of the 25 male senators voted in favor of this bill, while only 3 of the 9 female senators voted in favor of it. I am sick and tired of the stereotype that women think emotionally and are incapable of making a rational decision, however when two third's of the women in power did just that, it makes it very difficult to argue against. We have a Governor who has pretty much done nothing but make emotional decisions, therefore I fear this bill will be vetoed. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I fear I will be right. Jennifer Novi Mi.

How come just because they disagree with you that must mean that they were emotional and not logical?

Anyone who but their emotions and opinions aside and looked at the facts objectively, and with an open mind, would have voted in favor of this bill. Anyone who had a set OPINION and refused to even listen to reason (like Nancy Cassis for example) clearly made an EMOTIONAL desision. Either that or they are insurance company puppets.

Freedom of choice. Period, end of dicussion. Now get it done!

This bill is about freedom of choice, it is not an anti-helmet bill. I would never support legislation that said you could not wear a helmet. For example; I took my bike out for time this year this past weekend. Even if Michigan were a helmet choice state, I would have choose to wear one because it was to cold not to. I would also wear one if I were riding in the city, where the roads are bad and traffic is always heavy. I would choose to not wear one when it is 90+ degrees and humid, and or if I were riding out in the country where the roads are good and there is little or no traffic. From my experiences both driving trucks across the country, and riding in helmet choice states, this seems to be a popular decision. Hopefully Michigan will allow it's citizens this choice. It sure would be nice.

I recently read an article that helmets may give a motorcycle rider a "false sense of security" and that a rider may be more careless as a result. At first I though this was a bunch of malarckey, but I remember a time when a buddy of mine and I went riding in helmet choice Ohio. This buddy of mine was a great guy, but God help him he just isn't that bright. I think we all know someone like that. Anyway while we were riding helmet free in Ohio, he obeyed the speed limits, he used extra caution at intersections, he was more aware of the traffic around him, he did everything you are suppost to do. We stopped at the Michigan state line, put our helmets on, and he instantly became an idiot. He, on more than one occasion, passed people through a curve or coming up a hill, crossing the double yellow line to do so. He gunned it to avoid getting stuck at a traffic light, he became completely wreckless. I realize he is only one person, but maybe there's something to helmets giving a false sense of security.

Look at crotch-rocket guy and compare him to cruiser guy. Even in helmet choice states, crotch-rocket guy usually wears a full face, cover the entire head, AAA wet-dream helmet. He also wears the jacket and pants with kevlar padding. This gives him a feeling of invincability, therefore he goes well over 100mph, does wheelies on the freeway, and rides completely wreckless. Now cruiser guy likes to go out to the country, let the wind blow through his hair, and enjoy being outdoors on his bike. He is not careless or wreckless. Crotch-rocket guys are going to do what they reguardless of the helmet law. It sure would be nice to let the responsible riders have a choice.