Being a motorcycle rider of almost 30 years and having lived in states both with and without helmet laws, I believe I’m qualified to comment on our state’s standing on motorcycle helmets. It seems people in Michigan are unwilling to accept the reality that wearing a helmet doesn’t necessarily make a motorcyclist safer. You don’t have to take my word for it, just do the math. Unfortunately motorcycle fatalities aren’t tracked by the exact cause of death. Head injuries are not the only cause of death of a motorcyclist and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration admits they’re not the main cause, but since the GR Press recently ran an Associated Press article about motorcycle deaths in Florida since they repealed their mandatory helmet law, let’s just use Florida’s numbers here. According to the article, since the repeal of the helmet law there has been a 67 percent increase in motorcycle fatalities. That sounds like a lot, until you take into account the fact that motorcycle registrations rose 87 percent. Add to that the fact that motorcycle riders in states without mandatory helmet laws on average ride significantly more miles in a year than their helmeted counterparts, and it doesn’t take someone with a math degree to figure out that when applied to the masses, states with no helmet laws are more safe. Similar statistics can be attained from other states that have repealed their helmet laws. I have also yet to see any credible proof that the lack of a helmet law creates a larger financial burden to society, a statement which is always broadcast by the helmet proponents yet they seem to only speculate. On the other hand, the 10’s of million’s of tourism dollars Michigan is missing out on because most motorcyclists from surrounding states (none of which have mandatory helmet laws like we do) won’t come here on their motorcycles requires no speculation. Here are a few tidbits of information for the misinformed and/or uneducated to chew on:
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Pretty hot topic lately.  I’ve taken some time to think about it and have finally formed my opinion although it’s sure to evolve.  I’m going to stick primarily to the Mexicans since that seems to be the kindling for this fire.

There are many jobs American’s won’t do….for the same amount of money that "Mexican’s" will.  A drive through the "plantations" of West Michigan is all that’s needed to see what I’m talking about.  I wouldn’t go pick those crops for $5hr….nor would I necessarily want my kids doing it.  That’s actually not how it works though.  All those farms have "foremen" who are legal sub-contractors and live here year round.  They are paid huge amounts of money and it’s up to them to get and pay their "crew".  Just in case you didn’t know…that’s how the farms cover their azz…they don’t hire off "applications".  I would expect that’s standard operating procedure for the large farms all over the country which is where most of the Mexican immigrants make a living from what I see.
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It all started yesterday morning when my wife called me from a garage sale asking if $40 was a good deal for a bike trailer to throw the kids in.  Well…it was a great deal…but we didn’t have any bikes…..yet.  So I went down and bought one of these from Gordy at the Freewheeler in Grand Rapids.  I got some extra stuff too and he ended up saving me about $200 over what I could have got it for anywhere else.  Nice guy…great prices.