HELMET_LAW_MIAG104.JPGGary Wiens, of Flushing, puts on his helmet as he prepares to leave the state Capitol after an anti-helmet rally in 2006.

GRAND RAPIDS – After years of protesting Michigan’s helmet law at Capitol rallies, motorcyclists converged last week for a “call to victory rally.”

The reason for optimism? Gov. Rick Snyder has replaced Jennifer Granholm, who twice vetoed repeals of the helmet law.

“He hasn’t said no, yet,” said Vince Consiglio, president of the state chapter of American Bikers Aiming Toward Education. ABATE — with the motto, “Let those who ride decide” — has long fought laws that require motorcyclists wear helmets.

The state Senate Transportation Committee passed a repeal that should soon go before the full Senate, while a bill is pending in the House of Representatives. Consiglio said there are enough votes in both chambers to change the helmet law.

“It’s a fluid situation,” he said, after meeting with the Snyder administration.

Then, he said: “I think we’ve got a better chance.”

Opponents say a repeal would increase deaths and serious injuries, and cost taxpayers in medical bills and increased insurance premiums.

“An Office of Highway Safety Planning analysis found that a repeal of the law would result in at least 30 additional motorcycle fatalities each year, along with 127 more incapacitating injures and $129 million in additional costs to citizens,” AAA Michigan said.
 
Dr. Robert Kreitsch, director of Mary Free Bed’s Traumatic Brain Injury Program, said repeal would be disastrous for virtually everyone. While ABATE points to studies that show fatalities and serious injuries won’t increase if helmets aren’t mandated, Kreitsch said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommend helmet use, “would probably have the most reliable studies.”

A study of patients at a trauma center near the border

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