East Valley police departments teamed up this week to encourage motorcyclists to wear helmets, saying there have been over 200 crashes just this year.
“I would a say rough numbers, half of our motorcyclist fatalities in Chandler are not wearing helmets," Sergeant Dan McQuillin with the Chandler Police Department said.
On Arizona roads, if you’re over the age of 18, you don’t need to wear a helmet if you are riding or driving a motorcycle.
But motorcyclist deaths are rising in Arizona according to ADOT. In 2023, 258 riders were killed, an 11% increase from 2022.
Still, not everyone is convinced.
Miles Endriss and Ariel Linne have bonded over riding bikes.
Linne wears a helmet, but her dad does not, saying he sees the road better without it.
His opinion hasn’t changed even after a crash on the highway a few years ago.
“I got a micro-fracture in my orbital socket. I got a blood spot in my brain. But, some risks, we take," Endriss said.
Linne chooses to wear a helmet, but she doesn’t believe others should be required to do the same thing.
“Just because people who support helmets wear helmets, doesn’t mean we want, or to force it on every rider," Linne said.
Studies by the National Institute of Health showed helmets decreased the chance of head injuries by 72%.
Brian Lobert is another Valley biker. He believes without his helmet, he wouldn’t be alive today, and that making them required is the right choice.
“There’s some very strong feelings about it and I understand that," Lobert said. "But it’s going to save lives in the long run plain and simple.”
A bill was introduced back in 2019 which would have required riders to wear helmets, or pay a fee not to.
It never was voted on.
Michael Infanzon is a lobbyist for ABATE of Arizona, a Motorcyclist group. He says he helped kill the bill by arguing for personal freedoms, and saying drivers are more to blame for motorcyclist deaths than riders.
“The biggest reason for motorcyclist crashes and fatalities is red light runners and left hand turns illegally in front of motorcycle drivers,” Infanzon said.