Written like a true cage driver Anon. Pay attention while riding around in your cage on wheels. “I didn’t see the motorcycle” is the most common excuse when a cage driver causes the accident – which is over 95% of the time – that maims the cyclist.
Wow, they have to carry a whole $20,000 in medical benefits??? That should be enough to pay for at least 0.1% of the lifetime medical costs of a traumatic brain injury.
“‘Helmet laws have done nothing to improve safety or reduce fatalities,” Consiglio said in a statement'” Wow. Just wow. Does he also think seat belt laws are useless tyranny?
What an goober — it’s what they get for listening to a biker. They should also attach a clause in the laws that waives their right to sue for head trauma, based on assumption of risk.
… because all “bikers” are exactly the same and have no common sense. I ride a bike as do millions of others, and plenty of us wear a helmet by choice.
My health insurance provider and my employer add funds to my medical savings account if I cave and follow the company line. I refuse to wear a bicycle helmet when I ride the bike paths in city parks so I get nastygrams telling me that I am risking my life and the future of civilization as we know it unless I wear a silly plastic beanie. I DO wear a helmet and apropriate clothing when I’m on a motorcycle. Note to Ins Guy- I’m a proud biker and I make informed choices and I don’t insult those who post comments here.
Now the smoke and mirrors by the insurance companies comes into play! Motorcycles are NOT insured in any state by whether the rider is wearing a helmet or not – they’re insured on engine size – under 1000cc or over 1000cc!! And as to the increased fatalities, injuries, brain damaged riders, property damage, yadda yadda yadda – injured motorcyclists spend fewer days in the hospital recovering than do single vehicle auto crash victims, which results in lower medical costs; and in a 10 year statistical overview of crashes and fatalities in Florida since they amended their helmet law, the majority of fatalities occurred to riders wearing helmets – not to unhelmeted riders!! Michigan is not going to see an increase in that regard, they’re going to see an increase in $$ from tourism, as more motorcyclists venture to Michigan now. The insurance companies are always going to whine….and the handwringers that don’t ride? Shaddup, you don’t know what you’re talking about!!!!
Why do so many people think their individual freedom is supreme when driving on PUBLIC AND SHARED roadways, which involve other people, other services, etc…!
Wow…and they call me a Goomba. Every single one of yous that posted here are most likely too chicken to even sit your a** on a motorcycle. It has NOT been proven that a helmet saves lives. Lets face it…if you’re bookin’ down the road at 65 and an idiot cuts you off, you’re goin’ DOWN and there isn’t ANYTHING that is going to save your life. Not a helmet, NOTHING. A friend of mines brother was on his bike and he WAS wearing a helmet. The crash didn’t kill him but what ripped his face off and DID kill him was his HELMET getting caught underneath the guard rail that he slid under. Two sides to every story. Now–go get your a** on a bike so that when you make a comment, you actually know what the frig your talkin’ about.
I own a Harley and I can see both sides, but this is a website aimed at professionals. Why are you presenting your opinion like you’re arguing in a bar? You’ll get more converts by presenting data than you will with an anecdote and some veiled curse words. You’re just reinforcing a stereotype.
All great points, Goofus. Just like we shouldn’t require seatbelts because your car might drive off a bridge and your chance of drowning is greater because you can’t exit the car fast enough.
How do you REALLY feel? Seriously, though, very sad about your friend, but how often would that happen. We all know a helmet is just a container for when they pick up the parts. And I ride also.
I don’t say this to be rude but it sounds like he’d have died either way. However, when your going 15 mph and not “bookin’ at 65”, and have a minor accident, you die when you rail your bare skull straight into the ground, and a helmet will surely save you at that speed. It all depends on the accident, but more often than not the helmet will help.
This just in, the University of Michigan will make wearing those ugly yellow striped Wolverine football helmets optional as a show of support for their biker brothers and sisters.
Smoking is legal so I guess we cannot say much about this “open minded” driving. Maybe this will be a catalyst to get MICH’s no fault system repaired before the system implodes.
If you are going to get into an accident in MI with or without a helmet, make sure it involves a vehicle insured in MI. That way, you enjoy the lifetime benefits of medical coverage from PIP. So if you swerve to dodge that deer, just make sure you hit that car!
I used to ride before an idiot backed out in front of me. My helmet did save my life. If you cared to find actual facts instead of your own uninformed opinions you might find a lot of people whose helmets did what was promised. Riders, you lose. Taxpayers and insurance holders in Michigan, you lose bigger.
Helmets might not be of much use in a high-speed crash, but they will prevent or mitigate serious injury in minor crashes. Fact is this will negatively affect insurance costs for Michiganders.
Unfortunately, many motorcycle crashes are high speed crashes–most often due to other vehicles making that infamous left turn (if you ride, you know what I’m talking about) and it really doesn’t matter if a helmet is worn or not. There is almost no such thing as a ‘minor crash’ on a motorcycle. Before you all start disliking this, all I’m saying is the odds of having a major crash are higher than having a minor crash.
Hey TXWW….do you even ride? I doubt it. I’ve ridden all over this country. Lived in states with and without helmet laws since 1973. Have I had accidents? You bet. The fastest I was going when I laid mine down was about 85 mph. I was not wearing a helmet. I was lucky and didn’t get hurt. I’ve laid or dropped my bike enough times that I laugh about it now. Still lucky and didn’t get hurt. Can a helmet help? Yes it can. Can a helmet hurt you? Yes it can. The biggest thing is experience in riding. Some of these young people get way to much motorcycle and don’t know how to handle them. They are generally the ones that get hurt. Helmet isn’t gonna help much. Insurance costs? The insurance companies will try to use this to up premiums for sure. Is that right. I think not. But they are greedy and the ones here in MI don’t like that they have to pay out for accidents for the life of the victim. This is more about greed on their part. But, ride safe, and enjoy the scenery.
But Bruce, in this case the likelihood that they’ll be in an accident isn’t entirely dependent on their ability to make an informed decision. Even very safe riders are at the mercy of others on the road, and when they get into accidents it drives up the costs for everyone. As TXWW correctly points out, helmets do mitigate damage in slower speed or more “minor” accidents.
When the costs of paying claims for these helmetless riders involved in accidents (regardless of fault) skyrockets and premiums follow, everyone ends up subsidizing their “informed decision.”
This is not progress-helmets save lives & head injuries. For the Governor to say (or indicate) otherwise is Ludacris. Furthermore, many riders who don’t wear helmets do not have medical insurance-leaving social programs to pick up the entire tab for their irresponsible behavior.
What cracks me up about motorcyle riders is how they always talk about someone cutting them off or not watching for them. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve had an idiot on a bike fly by me on the highway and swerve right in front of me. How many times have I watched as they’ve driven down the middle of the highway with cars on both sides (no lane, just passing cars illegally)? Yet a motorcycle rider will claim they are not “watched for” or about how difficult it is riding a bike.
Does that really crack you up that most people especially young, don’t watch for cyclist? More often then not it’s the young people on both sides of this….not watching out on their bike or not watching for bikes. Way to be stereotypical!
There are quite a few idiots out there on motorcycles. There is no doubt. But there are far more idiot drivers and far more cars. People pull out in front of me all the time when I’m on my bike, and I am not one of those idiots you see riding down the center of the road. People should watch for motorcycles, and people on motorcycles should be respectful of others on the road as well. It goes both ways. You are being too general when there are millions of people and millions of possible situations.
The fact is they haven’t found that helmets on a motorcycle do not have any apprciable benefit. They may, just may, help in lower speed accidents but will do nothing in a higher speed accident. From the insurance standpoint if you believe there are likely to be more fatalities or serious injuires look to states that don’t have helmet laws to compare. Also from an insurance standpoint it is cheaper to settle out a fatality claim than a life long injury. So it really is cheaper from an insurance standpoint for bikers not to wear helmets.
In Michigan auto insurance companies get jacked when a motorcycle is “involved” in an accident with an automobile because then the biker in entitled to Lifetime, No Dollar Cap, PIP Benefits.
If wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle in Michigan is no longer mandatory, it should no longer be mandatory to offer PIP coverage to riders who are hurt doing it. Nor should the rest of us have to pay for their medical treatment when they are in a coma for years.
Just because we have the right to choose not to wear a helmet now doesn’t mean that there is going to be more motorcycle accidents. A lot of people still choose to wear a helmet, so how much more is anyone really going to have to pay if there is an accident? If someone chooses to wear a helmet, but falls off of his/her motorcycle while going down the highway, then gets run over by a car, what do you think really killed that person? (a brain injury or multi-systems trauma?), but i guess since that person was wearing a helmet, you can rest easy. Helmet or no helmet, the risk is the same. People now have the right to choose, so quit your whining and deal with it. By the way, i still choose to wear mine and still don’t truly feel any safer with all the idiot drivers out there texting and talking on the phone, who are too self-absorbed to realize that they are not the only ones driving on the road. HANG UP/PUT THE PHONE DOWN AND PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!!!!! You are not the only one on the road and need to have a little common courtesy for everyone else on the road, whether its other drivers or riders with or without helmets. Safe conscienscious driving and riding is what will truly save lives.
They should make them sign organ donor cards also.
Written like a true cage driver Anon. Pay attention while riding around in your cage on wheels. “I didn’t see the motorcycle” is the most common excuse when a cage driver causes the accident – which is over 95% of the time – that maims the cyclist.
Thanks Michigan
Wow, they have to carry a whole $20,000 in medical benefits??? That should be enough to pay for at least 0.1% of the lifetime medical costs of a traumatic brain injury.
“‘Helmet laws have done nothing to improve safety or reduce fatalities,” Consiglio said in a statement'” Wow. Just wow. Does he also think seat belt laws are useless tyranny?
What an goober — it’s what they get for listening to a biker. They should also attach a clause in the laws that waives their right to sue for head trauma, based on assumption of risk.
… because all “bikers” are exactly the same and have no common sense. I ride a bike as do millions of others, and plenty of us wear a helmet by choice.
My health insurance provider and my employer add funds to my medical savings account if I cave and follow the company line. I refuse to wear a bicycle helmet when I ride the bike paths in city parks so I get nastygrams telling me that I am risking my life and the future of civilization as we know it unless I wear a silly plastic beanie. I DO wear a helmet and apropriate clothing when I’m on a motorcycle. Note to Ins Guy- I’m a proud biker and I make informed choices and I don’t insult those who post comments here.
Sorry Water Bug…my post obviously didn’t apply to you..
Now the smoke and mirrors by the insurance companies comes into play! Motorcycles are NOT insured in any state by whether the rider is wearing a helmet or not – they’re insured on engine size – under 1000cc or over 1000cc!! And as to the increased fatalities, injuries, brain damaged riders, property damage, yadda yadda yadda – injured motorcyclists spend fewer days in the hospital recovering than do single vehicle auto crash victims, which results in lower medical costs; and in a 10 year statistical overview of crashes and fatalities in Florida since they amended their helmet law, the majority of fatalities occurred to riders wearing helmets – not to unhelmeted riders!! Michigan is not going to see an increase in that regard, they’re going to see an increase in $$ from tourism, as more motorcyclists venture to Michigan now. The insurance companies are always going to whine….and the handwringers that don’t ride? Shaddup, you don’t know what you’re talking about!!!!
Why do so many people think their individual freedom is supreme when driving on PUBLIC AND SHARED roadways, which involve other people, other services, etc…!
Wow…and they call me a Goomba. Every single one of yous that posted here are most likely too chicken to even sit your a** on a motorcycle. It has NOT been proven that a helmet saves lives. Lets face it…if you’re bookin’ down the road at 65 and an idiot cuts you off, you’re goin’ DOWN and there isn’t ANYTHING that is going to save your life. Not a helmet, NOTHING. A friend of mines brother was on his bike and he WAS wearing a helmet. The crash didn’t kill him but what ripped his face off and DID kill him was his HELMET getting caught underneath the guard rail that he slid under. Two sides to every story. Now–go get your a** on a bike so that when you make a comment, you actually know what the frig your talkin’ about.
I own a Harley and I can see both sides, but this is a website aimed at professionals. Why are you presenting your opinion like you’re arguing in a bar? You’ll get more converts by presenting data than you will with an anecdote and some veiled curse words. You’re just reinforcing a stereotype.
All great points, Goofus. Just like we shouldn’t require seatbelts because your car might drive off a bridge and your chance of drowning is greater because you can’t exit the car fast enough.
How do you REALLY feel? Seriously, though, very sad about your friend, but how often would that happen. We all know a helmet is just a container for when they pick up the parts. And I ride also.
I don’t say this to be rude but it sounds like he’d have died either way. However, when your going 15 mph and not “bookin’ at 65”, and have a minor accident, you die when you rail your bare skull straight into the ground, and a helmet will surely save you at that speed. It all depends on the accident, but more often than not the helmet will help.
This just in, the University of Michigan will make wearing those ugly yellow striped Wolverine football helmets optional as a show of support for their biker brothers and sisters.
Smoking is legal so I guess we cannot say much about this “open minded” driving. Maybe this will be a catalyst to get MICH’s no fault system repaired before the system implodes.
If you are going to get into an accident in MI with or without a helmet, make sure it involves a vehicle insured in MI. That way, you enjoy the lifetime benefits of medical coverage from PIP. So if you swerve to dodge that deer, just make sure you hit that car!
I used to ride before an idiot backed out in front of me. My helmet did save my life. If you cared to find actual facts instead of your own uninformed opinions you might find a lot of people whose helmets did what was promised. Riders, you lose. Taxpayers and insurance holders in Michigan, you lose bigger.
Helmets might not be of much use in a high-speed crash, but they will prevent or mitigate serious injury in minor crashes. Fact is this will negatively affect insurance costs for Michiganders.
Unfortunately, many motorcycle crashes are high speed crashes–most often due to other vehicles making that infamous left turn (if you ride, you know what I’m talking about) and it really doesn’t matter if a helmet is worn or not. There is almost no such thing as a ‘minor crash’ on a motorcycle. Before you all start disliking this, all I’m saying is the odds of having a major crash are higher than having a minor crash.
Hey TXWW….do you even ride? I doubt it. I’ve ridden all over this country. Lived in states with and without helmet laws since 1973. Have I had accidents? You bet. The fastest I was going when I laid mine down was about 85 mph. I was not wearing a helmet. I was lucky and didn’t get hurt. I’ve laid or dropped my bike enough times that I laugh about it now. Still lucky and didn’t get hurt. Can a helmet help? Yes it can. Can a helmet hurt you? Yes it can. The biggest thing is experience in riding. Some of these young people get way to much motorcycle and don’t know how to handle them. They are generally the ones that get hurt. Helmet isn’t gonna help much. Insurance costs? The insurance companies will try to use this to up premiums for sure. Is that right. I think not. But they are greedy and the ones here in MI don’t like that they have to pay out for accidents for the life of the victim. This is more about greed on their part. But, ride safe, and enjoy the scenery.
Gee,
Educate the riders, Let the Adult riders make an informed adult decision.
What a concept…really hope it catches on.
But Bruce, in this case the likelihood that they’ll be in an accident isn’t entirely dependent on their ability to make an informed decision. Even very safe riders are at the mercy of others on the road, and when they get into accidents it drives up the costs for everyone. As TXWW correctly points out, helmets do mitigate damage in slower speed or more “minor” accidents.
When the costs of paying claims for these helmetless riders involved in accidents (regardless of fault) skyrockets and premiums follow, everyone ends up subsidizing their “informed decision.”
The “Economics” in Michigan is horrible and this certainly won’t make it any better.
This is not progress-helmets save lives & head injuries. For the Governor to say (or indicate) otherwise is Ludacris. Furthermore, many riders who don’t wear helmets do not have medical insurance-leaving social programs to pick up the entire tab for their irresponsible behavior.
What cracks me up about motorcyle riders is how they always talk about someone cutting them off or not watching for them. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve had an idiot on a bike fly by me on the highway and swerve right in front of me. How many times have I watched as they’ve driven down the middle of the highway with cars on both sides (no lane, just passing cars illegally)? Yet a motorcycle rider will claim they are not “watched for” or about how difficult it is riding a bike.
Does that really crack you up that most people especially young, don’t watch for cyclist? More often then not it’s the young people on both sides of this….not watching out on their bike or not watching for bikes. Way to be stereotypical!
There are quite a few idiots out there on motorcycles. There is no doubt. But there are far more idiot drivers and far more cars. People pull out in front of me all the time when I’m on my bike, and I am not one of those idiots you see riding down the center of the road. People should watch for motorcycles, and people on motorcycles should be respectful of others on the road as well. It goes both ways. You are being too general when there are millions of people and millions of possible situations.
The fact is they haven’t found that helmets on a motorcycle do not have any apprciable benefit. They may, just may, help in lower speed accidents but will do nothing in a higher speed accident. From the insurance standpoint if you believe there are likely to be more fatalities or serious injuires look to states that don’t have helmet laws to compare. Also from an insurance standpoint it is cheaper to settle out a fatality claim than a life long injury. So it really is cheaper from an insurance standpoint for bikers not to wear helmets.
In Michigan auto insurance companies get jacked when a motorcycle is “involved” in an accident with an automobile because then the biker in entitled to Lifetime, No Dollar Cap, PIP Benefits.
There’s a reason they’re called Donor Cycles.
So I can operate a motorcycle without a helmet , but I must wear a seat belt to operate my car?
If wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle in Michigan is no longer mandatory, it should no longer be mandatory to offer PIP coverage to riders who are hurt doing it. Nor should the rest of us have to pay for their medical treatment when they are in a coma for years.
With rights come responsibilities. What a sham!
America is the only country in the world where it is cool to do something stupid.
Just because we have the right to choose not to wear a helmet now doesn’t mean that there is going to be more motorcycle accidents. A lot of people still choose to wear a helmet, so how much more is anyone really going to have to pay if there is an accident? If someone chooses to wear a helmet, but falls off of his/her motorcycle while going down the highway, then gets run over by a car, what do you think really killed that person? (a brain injury or multi-systems trauma?), but i guess since that person was wearing a helmet, you can rest easy. Helmet or no helmet, the risk is the same. People now have the right to choose, so quit your whining and deal with it. By the way, i still choose to wear mine and still don’t truly feel any safer with all the idiot drivers out there texting and talking on the phone, who are too self-absorbed to realize that they are not the only ones driving on the road. HANG UP/PUT THE PHONE DOWN AND PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!!!!! You are not the only one on the road and need to have a little common courtesy for everyone else on the road, whether its other drivers or riders with or without helmets. Safe conscienscious driving and riding is what will truly save lives.