Should Motorcycle Riders be Required to Wear Helmets by Law?

The governor of Michigan just signed a law that overturned the state’s long-standing helmet requirement for motorcyclists. Senate Bill 291 overturned the 35 year old safety requirement that was created to protect motorcycle riders from traumatic brain injuries and fatalities in the event of a crash. This decision has sparked national controversy and debates about the costly affects that the repeal will have on the lives of motorists in the state.
According to the Office of Highway Safety Planning, riders without helmets are 40% more likely to suffer fatal head injuries than those with helmets, and are 15% more likely to incur nonfatal head injuries. When you consider that approximately 3,250 motorcycle accidents occur every year in Michigan, the passage of this new law would lead to hundreds of deaths and head injuries every year that could have been prevented. Michigan is the latest state to join the national debate that stretches back to 1967, when the federal government first required states to adopt helmet laws. Congress lifted sanctions against states without such laws in 1995 and today, only 19 states have laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear a helmet.

A 2009 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety revealed that motorcycle riders are 25 times more likely to die from a crash than car or truck drivers. That is why a good number of states have laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets and observe other safety practices. In Massachusetts, motorcyclists are not only required to wear helmets, but they must also wear eye protection and ride a bike with turn signals. Nearly half of all motorcycle deaths in 2009 occurred during a single vehicle crash, and many riders are thankful for these mandatory safety precautions.

Massachusetts lawmakers are also considering making changes to the state’s motorcycle laws that required riders to wear helmets. One of proposed changes would lift the helmet requirement for both riders and passengers over the age of 21, and other would exempt riders whose motorcycles are registered in a state without helmet law. Out of the 1,150 motorcycle accidents that occurred in Massachusetts in 2010, 78.5% of the riders had a helmet on. Studies have shown that when helmet laws and weakened or repealed, helmet use usually drops to about 50 percent, and this would have a dramatic impact on the injuries that are suffered in these accidents.

When a motorcycle accident occurs, it is very likely that the rider will incur serious injuries that could be long-term, disabling and extremely expensive. When a state removes the legal requirement to wear helmets, every motorist in that state will probably see more costly insurance claims as a result. Whether you are wearing a helmet or not, motorcycle accidents are some of the most devastating motor vehicle accidents that can occur and the victims of wrongful injuries have the right to seek compensation. If you or someone you love has been injured in a motorcycle accident, a Cape Cod personal injury attorney can provide you with the legal counsel you need to file an injury claim and seek compensation.