Friday, March 26, 2010

MI helmet law statistics

OFF THE WIRE
This is the usual Gibberish put out by triple"A" for assholes. Except now they do it so that there is no comment section. Cowards go tired of me beating them up on their articles. They were at the Committee hearing today, and they repeated the same old crap. I'd like to know how much it costs their clients to fund these self dedicated babblings. If you don't tell ALL the truth, are you telling the truth at ALL? Today he gave the lame stat that michigan bikers pay in 1.9% into the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association Fund but have claims of around 7% annually. Okay thats the truth. But the rest of the truth is; 1. In addition to us paying in on each of our bikes we ALSO pay in on every other vehicle we own. 2. While we pay IN for each motorcycle, we only collect from the MCCA IF THERE IS A AUTOMOBILE involved in the accident. In other words if we hit a deer, a tree, whatever we are not eligible for MCCA funds. Now if we are drawing 7% annually I guess that means a hell of alot of us are getting in accidents with AUTOMOBILES. Which cost the insurance company some profits, eh? They are so full of shit. They are un-regulated, and self governed. They lost more in non-publicly transparent stock investments in one year than they have ever paid out for motorcyclists.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/helmet-law-repeal-will-result-in-mor
e-traffic-fatalities-and-insurance-costs-aaa-reports-88951262.html

Helmet Law Repeal Will Result in More Traffic Fatalities and Insurance
Costs, Michigan AAA Reports

Total bill: $129 million in added economic costs to Michigan citizens
DEARBORN, Mich., March 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AAA Michigan strongly
opposes legislation that will be considered by the House Committee on
Regulatory Reform in Lansing tomorrow which would allow motorcyclists to
ride without a helmet on the state's roadways. The legislation will increase
motorcycle fatalities and injuries and would increase costs for all
motorists, AAA Michigan reports.

Every year, challengers of Michigan's mandatory motorcycle helmet law try to
get the law repealed without regard for the common good. A 2005 AAA study
found nearly 90 percent of AAA Michigan members opposed a repeal of the
state's mandatory motorcycle helmet law, which has served Michigan well for
more than 36 years.
------------ what's the point of polling triple a members about a matter
that they are not at all involved in ? much less experts in ? . . .
A repeal of the motorcycle helmet law will result in at least 30 additional
motorcycle fatalities each year, along with 127 more incapacitating injuries
and $129 million in added economic costs to Michigan citizens. This is based
on the experience of other states where similar measures have been enacted.

----------- strange that in CA, the fatality rate stayed (essentially ) the
same after their mandatory helmet law came in. the rate was ~ 2.9 and
leveled off at a bit higher: 3.1% of all m'cl accidents involved a
fatality. btw, the rate is climbing now - not falling . . .
As evidenced by increased medical costs passed on to taxpayers, motorcycle
deaths and long-term catastrophic injuries are on the rise.

----------- ummm. because motorcycles are being ridden more and more
people are riding 'em , y'think ? . . .
Motorcycle crashes account for a disproportionate share of money paid out of
the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA), a fund which is
supported by a surcharge on every auto insurance policy in Michigan.
Although motorcyclists represent 1.9 percent of the assessments paid into
the MCCA, they account for 5 percent of all money paid out and 7 percent of
all claims reported. Since its inception in 1978, MCCA has reimbursed member
insurers more than $321 million for 712 motorcycle injury claims exceeding
the threshold.
----------- which means that automobiles require paying out TWENTY TIMES as
much money ! perhaps it's time for helmets in cars, eh ? . . .

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in
2007, 5,154 motorcyclists were killed - a 7 percent increase over the 4,837
motorcyclists killed in 2006. In Michigan, 127 motorcyclists were killed and
another 3,462 were injured in motorcycle crashes in 2008. The number of
motorcycle crashes in the state rose from 3,723 in 2007 to 3,969 in 2008.

---------- in spite of a helmet mandate, fatalities rose ? did MI repeal
its helmet mandate ? no . . .
NHTSA estimates that helmets saved 1,784 motorcyclists' lives in 2007, and
that 800 more could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.
----------- and their "estimate" is based on ... ? . . .
AAA Michigan urges legislators to keep Michigan's mandatory motorcycle
helmet law,

--------- aaa wants m'cl riders to drive cars . . .