Neal Rubin
detnews.com
Sooner or later, motorcyclists in Michigan will win the right to smack their bare heads against hard objects. This could be the year.
Every session or two, the legislature approves a bill that would take the armor plating off our mandatory helmet law, which has been in effect since 1969. Jennifer Granholm vetoed the last two, but there's a new traffic cop in the governor's office.
While Rick Snyder hasn't offered an opinion, the lieutenant governor and other Republican leaders in Lansing have aligned themselves with the hard objects. The latest bill cleared a Senate committee last week, and it figures to be an open road from here to Snyder's desk.
The bill would allow riders age 21 and up to go without a helmet if they've been licensed for at least two years or have completed a safety course. ABATE, the motorcyclists' organization that held its annual rally in Lansing last week, says it's an issue of personal freedom.
That's true. What's also true, no matter how enthusiastically the two-wheelers try to spin the numbers, is that it's an issue of more dead motorcyclists and higher costs.
In the six states that have made helmets optional since 1997, usage has fallen to anywhere from 52 to 66 percent. There's apparently much to be said for being wild and carefree and feeling the wind in your hair.
Helmetless riders, unfortunately, are much more likely than helmeted riders to die on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helmets are 37 percent effective in preventing fatalities and close to 70 percent effective in preventing traumatic brain injuries. Everywhere helmet rules have been relaxed, deaths have gone up, and at a faster rate than ridership.
If experience means anything — and it usually does — I'll hear from motorcyclists claiming that NHTSA is just a tool of the evil insurance companies, conspiring to force buckets onto heads. In fact, NHTSA is Switzerland, the neutral player in the dispute, and has plenty of riders on its staff.
It's just putting statistics on pages. As for insurance companies, mine has made it abundantly clear that it won't pay off if I die flying an airplane. The numbers say that would be a high-risk hobby.
Insurance companies favor helmet laws because the numbers say helmets make a relatively dangerous form of transportation more safe. It's a trade-off: They don't have to hurt their profit margins with big payouts for long-term care, and their customers don't have to re-learn how to talk and feed themselves.
The fact remains, though, that society has a vested interest in keeping citizens alive. That's why we have speed limits and child seats, and why your local ACE Hardware doesn't sell plastic explosives.
Helmets help. I'm sure some e-mailers will tell me they're only useful at speeds up to 15 mph, but that's not true. Someone will insist that they impair hearing, but the good ones actually filter noise. If helmets are so wonderful, I'll be asked, why don't drivers have to wear them? Because cars have sheet metal and seat belts and airbags, and motorcycles have bull's-eyes on them.
"Let those who ride, decide," I'll be told, but we don't let bricklayers write building codes, and those who ride don't do it in a vacuum. We're all affected.
And then ultimately, the law will pass anyway and helmets will become optional.
When you're trying to maintain the status quo, it's like being a gunfighter. Six wins in a row is nice, but 6-1 is a bad season. Whether it's this governor this year or someone else down the road, the law will change.
If seeing craniums without helmets on them makes you shake your head, all you can say is, "Knock yourselves out" — and hope it's only an expression.
nrubin@detnews.com
(313) 222-1874
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110612/OPINION03/106120311/With-helmets-on--common-sense-is-in#ixzz1P53kgtLx
Every session or two, the legislature approves a bill that would take the armor plating off our mandatory helmet law, which has been in effect since 1969. Jennifer Granholm vetoed the last two, but there's a new traffic cop in the governor's office.
While Rick Snyder hasn't offered an opinion, the lieutenant governor and other Republican leaders in Lansing have aligned themselves with the hard objects. The latest bill cleared a Senate committee last week, and it figures to be an open road from here to Snyder's desk.
The bill would allow riders age 21 and up to go without a helmet if they've been licensed for at least two years or have completed a safety course. ABATE, the motorcyclists' organization that held its annual rally in Lansing last week, says it's an issue of personal freedom.
That's true. What's also true, no matter how enthusiastically the two-wheelers try to spin the numbers, is that it's an issue of more dead motorcyclists and higher costs.
Trouble in the numbers
As the brother of two former riders, I am very much in favor of live motorcyclists. As someone who went to college on a seven-card stud scholarship, I'm also in favor of respecting the laws of probability.In the six states that have made helmets optional since 1997, usage has fallen to anywhere from 52 to 66 percent. There's apparently much to be said for being wild and carefree and feeling the wind in your hair.
Helmetless riders, unfortunately, are much more likely than helmeted riders to die on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helmets are 37 percent effective in preventing fatalities and close to 70 percent effective in preventing traumatic brain injuries. Everywhere helmet rules have been relaxed, deaths have gone up, and at a faster rate than ridership.
If experience means anything — and it usually does — I'll hear from motorcyclists claiming that NHTSA is just a tool of the evil insurance companies, conspiring to force buckets onto heads. In fact, NHTSA is Switzerland, the neutral player in the dispute, and has plenty of riders on its staff.
It's just putting statistics on pages. As for insurance companies, mine has made it abundantly clear that it won't pay off if I die flying an airplane. The numbers say that would be a high-risk hobby.
Insurance companies favor helmet laws because the numbers say helmets make a relatively dangerous form of transportation more safe. It's a trade-off: They don't have to hurt their profit margins with big payouts for long-term care, and their customers don't have to re-learn how to talk and feed themselves.
Helmets make a difference
ABATE does some valuable things, like sponsoring training and charity rides. And its members make valid points, like the culpability of automobile drivers in many motorcycle wrecks. (Note the video at the top of this column: What the heck was going on with that black sedan?) We would all be better served if motorists stopped texting and started double-checking for bikes before they changed lanes.The fact remains, though, that society has a vested interest in keeping citizens alive. That's why we have speed limits and child seats, and why your local ACE Hardware doesn't sell plastic explosives.
Helmets help. I'm sure some e-mailers will tell me they're only useful at speeds up to 15 mph, but that's not true. Someone will insist that they impair hearing, but the good ones actually filter noise. If helmets are so wonderful, I'll be asked, why don't drivers have to wear them? Because cars have sheet metal and seat belts and airbags, and motorcycles have bull's-eyes on them.
"Let those who ride, decide," I'll be told, but we don't let bricklayers write building codes, and those who ride don't do it in a vacuum. We're all affected.
And then ultimately, the law will pass anyway and helmets will become optional.
When you're trying to maintain the status quo, it's like being a gunfighter. Six wins in a row is nice, but 6-1 is a bad season. Whether it's this governor this year or someone else down the road, the law will change.
If seeing craniums without helmets on them makes you shake your head, all you can say is, "Knock yourselves out" — and hope it's only an expression.
nrubin@detnews.com
(313) 222-1874
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110612/OPINION03/106120311/With-helmets-on--common-sense-is-in#ixzz1P53kgtLx
