Now we can ride without helmets or sense

Floridian Frank De Los Reyes wasn’t wearing a helmet when he crashed his Harley-Davidson in 2008

My governor is an absolute idiot.

I just learned that Rick Snyder repealed Michigan’s decades-old motorcycle helmet law yesterday. So now we have to deal with the likelihood that my state will soon be populated by even more people whose signatures consist of “X”s and who think Rush Limbaugh is a voice of reason.

Under the new law, riders 21 and over can ride helmetless if they’ve passed a safety course or have been licensed to operate a motorcycle for at least 24 months. Oh, and they’re required to obtain additional insurance in case they crash. (Motorcycle passengers also have to be 21 and carry additional insurance if they want to ride sans helmet.)

Gary Busey

I have two words for supporters of the repeal: Gary Busey. The actor who earned an Oscar nomination back in 1978 for his portrayal of Buddy Holly was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident ten years later – he wasn’t wearing a helmet – and he hasn’t been the same since. Doctors think he probably suffered permanent brain damage, which would explain his ridiculous endorsement of the Donald’s failed presidential bid last year.

I visited the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) website and learned that the number of motorcycle-related deaths in 2007 was about 37 times the number in cars, and that almost 4,300 cyclists died in 2009. Clearly, motorcycles are dangerous. Yet Michigan’s chief executive – a member of the party that wants to insert ultrasound devices into women’s genitalia and determine who can get married yet claims to be the “party of less government” – apparently believes he, not the experts, knows what’s best for motorcyclists.

More from the IIHS:

• Helmets are the principal countermeasure for reducing crash-related head injuries, a leading cause of death among unhelmeted riders.

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 25 studies of the costs of injuries from motorcycle crashes "consistently found that helmet use reduced the fatality rate, probability and severity of head injuries, cost of medical treatment, length of hospital stay, necessity for special medical treatments, and probability of long-term disability.”

• A 1996 NHTSA study showed average inpatient hospital charges for unhelmeted motorcyclists in crashes were eight percent higher than for helmeted riders ($15,578 compared with $14,377).

• According to a 2000 motor vehicle occupant survey conducted by NHTSA, 81 percent reported that they favored mandatory helmet use laws for motorcyclists.

• Among motorcyclists who reported not always wearing helmets while riding, 57 percent said that a helmet law would encourage full-time helmet use.

So now we have another example of how my beloved Great Lake State, once a national leader in forward-thinking public policy, is going backwards faster than a stick of butter melts in the sun. Say what you will about government regulations, but this one made sense and protected public health.

Snyder’s signature on Senate Bill 291 proves that he’s no tough nerd, shrewd politician or misunderstood public servant. He’s just an idiot who’s not above pandering to the knuckle-dragging segment of Michigan’s population – which is about to get bigger.

Rick Snyder photo courtesy Lon Horwedel/AnnArbor.com

Sources: MLive.com, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Tampa Tribune.