SOS Owning a Vehicle Vehicle Safety Motorcycle Helmet Use in Michigan What the Law Says Michigan law now allows motorcyclists to decide for themselves, if certain conditions are met, whether or not to wear a helmet. To legally not wear a helmet, a motorcycle operator must: Be at least 21 years old. Have at least $20,000 in first-party medical benefits. Have held a motorcycle endorsement for at least two years, or have passed an approved motorcycle safety course. The law also allows for motorcycle passengers to not wear a helmet. Passengers also may not wear a helmet as long as they: Are at least 21 years old. Have at least $20,000 in first-party medical benefits insurance in addition to the insurance that is required of the motorcycle operator. A person younger than 21 years old still must wear a helmet approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation when operating or riding on a motorcycle. The requirement that an individual younger than 19 years old must wear a helmet if operating a moped on a public roadway is unchanged.

Learn More About Using a Helmet To read more about properly using a motorcycle helmet, please see the video linked to above or this informational article from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, which recommends wearing an approved helmet as well as over-the-ankle footwear, long pants, a long-sleeved jacket and full-fingered motorcycle gloves. According to the article, "Since head injuries account for a majority of motorcycle fatalities, protection is vital.  Even the best helmet is no guarantee against injury. However, without a helmet you are more likely to have serious head injuries than a rider who is wearing one." The Motorcycle Safety Foundation, a nationally recognized group devoted to safe riding, has produced an informative video about helmet use.Lawmaker who opposed universal helmet law dies in motorcycle crashChat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.Peter Pettalia was elected to Michigan's legislature in 2010He had voted to repeal helmet laws for motorcycle ridersIn 2012, he voted to repeal universal helmet laws for all motorcycle riders over the age of 20.

Michigan is one of 28 states that do not have laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.In the three years after Michigan repealed a mandatory motorcycle helmet law, deaths and head injuries among bikers rose sharply, according to a recent study.Deaths at the scene of the crash more than quadrupled, while deaths in the hospital tripled for motorcyclists. motorcycle trikes for sale in tnHead injuries have increased overall, and more of them are severe, the researchers report in the American Journal of Surgery.Senior author Dr. Carlos Rodriguez decided to do the study after noticing an abrupt change in the trauma unit at Spectrum Health Hospital in Grand Rapids, where he works.motorcycle dealers in darwin

The first week after the law was repealed in April 2012, he told Reuters Health, “I just could not help but notice the number of patients that had been in motorcycle crashes with no helmet on, which was enormously different in number and volume than we had experienced the weekend before.” The study team looked at records for patients admitted to Spectrum Health Hospital and at state transportation department records of fatalities at crash scenes for the seven-month motorcycle season (April to November) in 2011, before the law was repealed, and for the same period in 2012, 2013 and 2014.Among the accident victims brought to the hospital, the proportion of riders who had not been wearing a helmet rose four-folddirt bikes for sale in green bay wi, from 7 percent to 28 percent, the researchers found.indian motorcycle war bonnet for sale

About 10 percent of non-helmeted riders brought to the hospital died there, compared to 3 percent of those who had been wearing helmets.Among riders who died at the crash scene, the proportion not wearing helmets rose from 14 percent before the law was repealed to 68 percent afterward. “These are the kinds of things that we wanted to look at to hopefully make legislators see that this was a mistake,” Rodriguez said in an email.harley rental miami airportRiders without helmets also drank more alcohol after the law was repealed, based on blood tests at hospital admissionThe severity of injuries increased for non-helmeted riders, as well as the number of life-threatening head injuries.motorbike shop in dumfriesNon-helmeted patients tended to stay longer in the Intensive Care Unit and to need machine assistance with breathing.motorcycle repair port charlotte florida

Overall, hospital costs averaged $27,760 for non-helmeted riders versus $20,970 for patients who had been wearing helmets.In the U.S., 19 states and the District of Columbia require all motorcyclists to wear a helmet, while 28 states require only some to wear them and three states have no helmet laws at all.Since the repeal of Michigan’s 35-year-old helmet law, riders can go without a helmet if they are over 21, have had their license for at least two years and purchase at least $20,000 in additional medical insurance coverage, the researchers note.Dr. Ben Zarzaur, a surgeon who studies motorcycle helmet laws, said that riders may choose not to wear a helmet because they say it is less restricting and they may claim to see or hear better without one. “The other argument (riders make), based on a flawed study several years ago, is that wearing a helmet can increase the risk for a cervical spine injury,” Zarzaur said by email. He noted, however, that there is no real-world evidence for this claim, while there is plenty of evidence that wearing a helmet reduces the risk of death and head injury.