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When Michigan House members take up proposed legislation to relax the state's motorcycle helmet law, safety advocates hope they will consider what has happened in other states that have done so during the last eight years.

In four of five states that changed their helmet laws between 1997 and 2000 to require helmets only for younger or novice riders, the death toll for helmet-less riders at least doubled between 1999 and 2003. In the fifth state, Kentucky, the death toll for helmet-less riders jumped 58 percent.

In Florida, deaths among motorcyclists without helmets increased tenfold during those years, while the death toll for riders wearing helmets remained statistically stable. Only in Arkansas, which had the smallest number of fatal motorcycle crashes during the period, did the death toll among riders wearing helmets increase proportionally to those who rode without.

Jim Rhoades, the legislative officer for the Michigan chapter of American Bikers Aiming Toward Education, said he thinks fatality increases have occurred because the relaxed helmet laws have put more motorcyclists out onto roads in those states.

Some riders simply won't ride - or even keep their bikes registered - if they have to wear helmets, Mr. Rhoades said. He argued that the fatality rate compared to motorcycle registrations has remained stable or gone down in every state except Louisiana, which last year became the first state in recent years to reinstate its universal helmet law.

But Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the fatality increases go beyond what can be explained by increased motorcycle activity.

"Without exception, a state that repeals its universal helmet law can expect an increase in serious injuries and fatalities," Mr. Tyson said. "Even when you take into account an increase in registrations, there still has been an increase in fatalities."

Nationwide, motorcycle deaths increased from 2,483 in 1999 to 3,661 in 2003, the most recent year for which statistics have been compiled. While deaths among riders with and without helmets both increased during that period, the increase among those without helmets was greater in both raw numbers and percentage.

Michigan is one of 20 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that requires all motorcyclists to wear helmets.

Motorcyclist Ken Lambert secures the chin strap on his helmet as he prepares to set out on a ride in Michigan.
( THE BLADE/LORI KING )

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Twenty-seven other states, including Ohio, require them for young or novice riders.

Ohio motorcyclists who are under age 18 or who have been licensed for less than a year must wear helmets.

Three states have no laws requiring helmets: Illinois, Iowa, and Colorado.

Michigan State Sen. Alan L. Cropsey (R., DeWitt) is the sponsor of legislation to allow motorcyclists to ride without helmets if they are at least 21 years old, have held motorcycle licenses for at least two years or completed a state safety course, and are carrying at least $10,000 in accident medical insurance.

The helmet bill, which passed the state Senate in March, is before the House Transportation Committee.

'A dangerous activity'

Senator Cropsey said he is holding off on asking the committee to act on the measure at the request of motorcycle rider groups, who want time to negotiate with Gov. Jennifer Granholm in hopes of heading off an expected veto.

"We support the current law," said Heidi Hansen, a spokesman for Governor Granholm.

Senator Cropsey said his decision to introduce the legislation was influenced by helmet manufacturers' reluctance to stand behind their products in court.

An attorney, he said he has repeatedly seen helmet manufacturers disclaim liability for injuries sustained in motorcycle crashes that occurred at speeds higher than 15 mph.

"Riding a motorcycle is a dangerous activity" with or without a helmet, said Mr. Cropsey, who does not ride a motorcycle himself.

In a high-speed crash, the only difference a helmet makes is "a closed-casket funeral or an open-casket funeral," he said.

The NHTSA, however, has calculated that proper helmets are 37 percent effective in preventing motorcycle crash deaths, making them the single-most effective piece of survival gear for riders.

The agency estimated that during 2003, the most recent year for which statistics have been compiled, helmets saved the lives of 1,158 motorcyclists and could have prevented the deaths of 640 others had they been wearing them.

Motorcycle helmet laws represent "one of the few areas where there is still 'low-hanging fruit' that can advance progress toward achieving safety goals," Kenneth Mead, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said in an April 5 report to a Senate subcommittee reviewing federal transportation safety programs.

That report notes that in addition to lives lost, a major issue in the helmet law debate is the medical costs that could be avoided with helmet use.

Helmet use in 2002 resulted in $1.3 billion in medical cost savings, a NHTSA study estimated.

If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, the study estimated that an additional $853 million in medical expenses could have been prevented.

The toll in Louisiana

Louisiana relaxed its helmet law in 1999 to apply only to riders under 18 or who did not carry $10,000 in medical insurance.

After relaxing the law, that state's death toll rose from 40 in 1999 to 77 in 2003, and the annual number of deaths involving unhelmeted riders more than trebled during that time, from 17 to 55.

Ben Pressburg, a public affairs officer for the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, said the repeal of the state's universal helmet requirement was pushed through the legislature "much against the advice and counsel" of the safety commission by then-Gov. Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr., a motorcyclist personally opposed to helmet laws.

On the day Kathleen Blanco succeeded Mr. Foster as governor last year, she declared she would sign a reinstatement if one made it to her desk.

Before Louisiana re-enacted a universal helmet law in August, however, Mr. Pressburg said the state's fatality rate from motorcycle crashes doubled and medical care for crash victims over four years cost a combined $1 billion.

Along with declaring their doubts about helmets' safety effectiveness, supporters of Senator Cropsey's bill claim the current helmet law costs Michigan and its businesses up to $1 billion a year in tourism dollars from out-of-state bikers who avoid the state.

None of Michigan's bordering states requires all motorcyclists to wear helmets.

Rides weigh in

David Dziedzic, a motorcyclist from Tecumseh, Mich., said the first thing he and his wife, Lynette, did when they attended a recent motorcycle rally in Kentucky was "peel the helmets off: It just feels better." He estimates he rides about 7,500 miles a year.

While acknowledging that a helmet is "good protection," it shouldn't be required by law, Mr. Dziedzic said.

Any crash at highway speed is likely to cause so much trauma that a helmet won't make any difference, he added.

Ken Lambert, a battalion chief at the Lambertville fire station, said he understands why some motorcyclists don't want to wear helmets, but a crash he experienced convinced him of their worth.

"I'm dead-set for the helmets. I slid 30 feet on the road and I'm sure it helped me. Personally, I think everybody should wear a helmet on a motorcycle," said Mr. Lambert, who professes to keep his on even in states where they aren't required.

Tim Garbo, a Monroe County sheriff's deputy who also rides with a motorcycle club called the Law Dogs, said he recently observed a colleague crash at 45 mph during a training exercise and emerge with barely a scratch because he was wearing a helmet and full leather clothing.

Mr. Garbo added there are hazards, like insects and stones kicked up by traffic, that could cause an unhelmeted rider to crash but don't harm a rider who wears head protection.

He conceded that there are "plenty of body regions where blunt-force trauma can kill you without having a head injury."

Nonetheless, he said, "you stand a better chance of survival if you've got a helmet on your head."

Contact David Patch at: dpatch@theblade.com or 419-724-6094.

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