Still think the helmet law repeal hasn’t had any negative impact? Motorcycle accident fatalities in Michigan increased by 18 percent in 2012, according to traffic crash data from the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP).
The 129 motorcycle accident deaths in 2012 are part of the an overall increase in fatalities caused by motorcycle crashes. The total number of fatalities increased 5 percent over 2011, from 889 to 936 auto accident fatalities.
I recently posed the question, does Gov. Rick Snyder hate motorcyclists? Snyder signed the helmet law repeal, caving into a small but passionate lobbying group. He did this, even though he knew full well – as I said to The Detroit Free Press the day after the repeal – that more people would be killed in motorcycle accidents, more people would be seriously injured, and the medical costs to take care of these people would significantly increase, which that increases the cost on the rest of us as taxpayers.
Apparently, Gov. Snyder didn’t care.
But after signing the helmet repeal legislation, Gov. Snyder then singled out motorcycle riders in his No-Fault reform Bill HB 4612, by lowering the insurance cap to $250,000 in No Fault medical benefits for any motorcycle operator injured in a crash, compared to a proposed No Fault insurance cap of $1 million for drivers of cars and trucks.
Related information:
Report: 21% reduction in motorcycle accident deaths if Michigan had a helmet law mandate
One year after Michigan motorcycle helmet repeal: Too many preventable deaths
