The group that led the charge to repeal Michigan’s motorcycle helmet requirement says the state has not suffered a rash of biker deaths in the past six months.
That is how long it has been since the law was changed.
American Bikers Aiming Toward Education (ABATE) point to state data between January and the end of August.
But state officials say it is really too early to tell what the effect has been.
Anne Readett of the state’s Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) said the data is provisional and incomplete.
“We, in our office, are not going to speculate one way or the other until we know that we have final data to look at,” she said.
The OHSP did release up-to-date numbers showing biker deaths slightly up since last year. The department also said there has been a 14 percent increase in incapacitating injuries.
Readett said they won’t be able to reach any good conclusions until at least spring, when they analyze the entire year.
