President of motorcycle safety group SMARTER on why riders should wear a motorcycle helmet

Today the state House passed a bill repealing Michigan’s law that requires motorcyclists to wear protective motorcycle helmets.

Even though the motorcycle helmet repeal has now passed the Senate and the House, it’s still unclear whether the Gov. will sign it. Gov. Snyder has made several public statements that he would consider the motorcycle helmet repeal, but as part of a larger effort to “reform” Michigan’s No-Fault insurance system. It seems every day brings us closer to being a state that allows its motorcyclists to ride without helmets. Stay tuned for more legal updates about the helmet repeal.

Dan Petterson from SMARTER provides great rebuttal: “7 reasons riders should wear a motorcycle helmet”

This is the second in my series about the rebuttal to my blog, 7 reasons every state should pass a motorcycle helmet law, which was inspired by a document that I found on a motorcyclist association website called SMARTER.

A reader named Clay responded on August 30, 2011 with what he called his “rebuttal to your 7 reasons why I should be forced to wear a helmet.”

The debate on Michigan’s motorcycle helmet law continues – Why motorcycle helmet laws save lives

I recently posted a blog called 7 reasons every state should pass a motorcycle helmet requirement.  The blog was inspired by a document that I found on a motorcyclist association website called SMARTER.

Clay, a reader, responded on August 30, 2011 with what he termed his “rebuttal to your 7 reasons why I should be forced to wear a helmet.”

Michigan motorcycle accident lawyer says new proposed legislation is a step in the right direction to protecting motorcycle owners and operators  – and taxpayers

SB 720: No-Fault, motorcycle, helmets (Kahn, Saginaw), requires motorcyclists who elect to ride without a helmet to purchase unlimited personal injury protection benefits. The bill deals primarily with who will pay for catastrophic injuries arising from motorcycle accidents. It was introduced last week, and has been referred to the Committee on Insurance.

Motorcycle lawyer comments and analysis on SB 720: This bill starts to address the concerns raised in previous blogs about who will pay for serious motorcycle accident injuries if the proposed helmet repeal legislation becomes law.

No economic loss claims or No-Fault PIP benefits for innocent Michigan motorcycle accident victims, discriminatory insurance protection and higher prices for motorcycle owners, and mandatory 35 percent at fault

Hidden in the new No-Fault “reform” bill  HB 4936 is a very nasty surprise for motorcycle owners. HB 4936 would devastate Michigan motorcyclist legal rights.

As a Michigan lawyer, I write often about motorcycle safety and the issue of motorcycle helmets. And even though I’m a strong proponent of helmets, HB 4936 goes far beyond this and is extraordinarily punitive to motorcycle operators who will choose not to wear a helmet (I already assume the Michigan helmet law will be overturned this year or early next - as does, ominously, this legislation).

Michigan bike accident lawyer stresses importance of helmet use to prevent TBI, and lists 11 bike safety tips

Last week, one of our long-time receptionists, Lisa,  was in a terrible bike accident. Lisa was riding her bicycle over a bridge on Commerce Trail in Commerce Township, when her back tire slipped on some water.

She fell head-first onto the pavement, fracturing the orbital bone below her left eye. Our photo shows how bad Lisa’s bike injury was.

Court rejects Oakland County’s excuse for creating  loose-gravel hazard that caused motorcycle crash in White Lake, MI

One thing about motorcycle accident cases: it never ceases to amaze me or our other motorcycle lawyers just how far defendants will go to avoid being held accountable for the harms and injuries their negligence causes.

My latest example is a recent case where a motorcyclist was seriously injured as a result of a loose-gravel hazard in White Lake, Michigan and the Oakland County Road Commission ignored both the facts and the law to avoid paying.

Oakland County, Michigan residents can watch the show on public television for next several months

I was recently interviewed on Oakland Connection, which airs on public television channels across Oakland County. The host, Timothy  Burns (also a very good lawyer who handles many different areas of law), asked my opinions as a Michigan accident lawyer on some possible changes in Michigan law.

We discussed the details of the proposed bills to cut Michigan No-Fault benefits, as well as the current proposal to repeal our motorcycle helmet requirement.

Here’s the full show:

Why lawyers should never take negligence for granted in bicycle accident cases

I was sent an interesting article that appeared in the New York Times last week titled, “A new breed of lawyers focuses on bicyclists’ rights.” The article focuses on a select few bicycle accident lawyers who are fighting back against the perceived police prejudice against cyclists.

The article dealt more with lawyers taking on tickets and citations against bicycle riders. But as a lawyer who has handled many Michigan bicycle accident cases involving serious injuries after bike riders were hit by cars, I can say I’ve seen this same bias in police in investigations.

Michigan motorcycle accident attorney explains how insurance  works in this common motorcycle crash  scenario

I’ve written about different types of motorcycle accidents and how a biker’s insurance would apply. But I missed one common scenario – when two motorcyclists collide with each other. This subject came up again just last week, when two riders were tragically killed.

I address this type of crash today because people usually have an image of a motorcycle accident that involves a motorcycle rider being hit by a car, but because many bikers ride together, this type of crash happens more often than people think.