More than twice as many helmeted motorcyclists in Genesee County crashes since repeal of law

Ronald Weissend's motorcycle sits in the garage of his home in Flint. Weissend was the first fatality in Michigan after the motorcycle helmet law was repealed. Lauren Justice | MLive.com

FLINT, MI – More than twice as many motorcyclists who crashed in Genesee County wore helmets than those who went without them since Michigan repealed its helmet law, an MLive-Flint Journal analysis of Michigan State Police records found.

Statistics show 70 people involved in Genesee County crashes were wearing helmets since the mandate was lifted in April, while 31 riders weren't wearing helmets.

Rodgers speaks from experience. He's been a cop for more than 20 years and also has been motorcycle rider for more than 12 years.

He said an August crash involving two motorcycles and a vehicle that ran a red light on Flint's south side details his point that injuries are becoming more serious after the helmet law repeal.

Neither motorcyclist was wearing a helmet and one of the rider's heads hit the side of the vehicle, Rodgers said.

"The doctor told him that he was able to slow himself down enough and had he been wearing a helmet, he would've walked away," Rodgers said.

Instead, police said the man had a skull fracture and a brain bleed.

Genesee County's 30 percent of helmetless riders who crashed is slightly higher than statewide statistics that show 74 percent of all motorcycle crashes involved helmeted people, while 26 percent weren't wearing a helmet.

Another statistic in Genesee County that is on par with the numbers across the state is the number of licensed motorcyclists involved in crashes.

In the six months since the law was repealed, 52 percent of people involved in crashes had a motorcycle endorsement.

The analysis of licensed riders was a part of the 101 crashes in the county and was identical to statewide figures.

"Most accidents of riders are because of inexperience or they have not had the training," said Randy Wilson, regional coordinator for American Bikers Aiming Toward Education in Genesee and Shiawassee counties. "The problem is people say, 'Oh, I used to ride dirt bikes.' Being out on the road is totally different."

Wilson said ABATE strives to get into driver's education courses in order to teach new drivers of four-wheel vehicles about motorcycles and how to be more aware of them.

"The problem with the state of Michigan is driver's training instructors don't have to talk about motorcycle safety," he said.