The final turn was taken for Michigan lawmakers to send a bill allowing motorcyclists over the age of 21 to ride without a helmet if they chose.

The next stop for the familiar legislation, this year given the moniker SB 291, is the signature of the state’s governor Rick Snyder.

Previous attempts to have made it this far was vetoed by then Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2006 and 2008.

But in Michigan the helmet debate carries its own potentially dire results that leaves behind the discussion of rider’s rights and motorcycle safety.

In this time of politically heated debate over tax rates and how much of a role government should play in the everyday lives of the average citizen, this new law has the potential to cost Michigan residents whether they ride or not.

Lost among all the discussions and seemingly passed over by those touting some skewed perception of riding rights is the simple fact that Michigan is the only state to provide unlimited medical coverage for crash victims, requiring lifetime benefits for all reasonable and necessary care.

With the average motorcycle claim paid from the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association being about $475,000, more motorcycle injuries could quickly add up. Those ignoring the simple argument that fewer riders wearing motorcycle helmets leads to more drastic injuries as well as deaths could find their point of view not only wrong, but costly to the Michigan resident.

This number has been estimated at $129 million in additional economic costs to Michigan residents.

With the minimum requirement to ride without a helmet bringing $20,000 in mandatory medical coverage there is a substantial gap in what can be paid and the average cost of recovery for a fallen motorcycle rider, not even taking into account the more severe injuries.

Whether at fault or not, a tragic story from motorcycle crash victims are medically induced coma’s while the brain not only repairs itself but the swelling is reduced from life-threatening sizes. Medically speaking, none of this is cheap.

Any rider who has been at a motorcycle event and contributed to a collection taken to help with mounting medical bills for the most recently fallen biker buddy can attest to how quickly costs can add up.

Helmets are nearly 30% effective in preventing motorcycle deaths and 67% effective in preventing brain injuries, reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Riders without helmets are 40% more likely to suffer a fatal head injury.

The facts go beyond what could happen, but  what has occured in states that have already allowed riders the choice of wearing a helmet. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that in the three years after Florida's repeal of its mandatory helmet law there was an 81 percent increase in fatalities.  Another study found that fatalities grew by more than 50 percent in Kentucky and 100 percent in Louisiana after those states struck down mandatory helmet laws.

On the other side of the argument is the right to decide on whether a rider wears a helmet, that somehow a scientifically designed and tested helmet doesn’t protect a riders head in any way in the case of an accident and finally, a motorcycle helmet limits vision or hearing to the point that a riders awareness is affected.

In a perfect world, all of the Michigan participants that worked so hard to get this freedom from helmets won’t balk at any increased taxes or costs relating to the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. Nor will they listen to any music while riding whether through the latest stereo system being touted for motorcycle or on the latest MP3 player come smartphone.

Regardless of which side of the arguments riders fall on, everyone will ride safer in a vain attempt to prove the studies as well as history, wrong.

Interestingly, public opinion seems to be against changing the standards for wearing motorcycle helmets. A spring poll of some 600 likely Michigan voters statewide by Marketing Research Group (MRG), Inc. of Lansing shows that 81 percent of the state's residents believe the current mandatory helmet law should be maintained.  Only sixteen percent said Michigan motorcycle riders should not be required to wear a helmet.

Surveys of AAA Michigan members over many years also confirm ongoing, overwhelming support for the law.  In this year's member survey, 90 percent favored keeping the helmet law.