Motorcycle Helmet & Lane-Splitting Laws in Michigan

Michigan repealed its universal motorcycle helmet law in 2012 and outlaws lane splitting. Here's what the statutes require now, plus the no-fault insurance twist that surprises injured riders.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jun 2, 2026
6 min read

Motorcycle helmet and lane-splitting laws in Michigan

If you ride in Michigan, two rules shape almost every motorcycle claim: who has to wear a helmet, and whether you can move between lanes of traffic. Michigan's answers are unusual. The state repealed its universal helmet law in 2012, and it treats motorcycles differently from cars for insurance in a way that blindsides injured riders. Here's what the statutes actually say, with the numbers and deadlines that matter after a crash.

Michigan's partial helmet law

Michigan required every motorcyclist to wear a helmet for roughly 40 years. That ended on April 13, 2012, when Public Act 98 of 2012 took effect and swapped the universal rule for a partial one.1 Under MCL 257.658, the default is still that operators and passengers wear an approved crash helmet.2 The exception is narrow. An operator who is 21 or older may ride without a helmet only if two things are both true: they have held a motorcycle endorsement for at least two years or completed an approved motorcycle safety course, and they carry at least $20,000 in first-party medical benefits.2 A passenger who is 21 or older can go helmetless too, but only while separately carrying at least $20,000 in first-party medical coverage of their own.2 Anyone under 21 wears a helmet, with no exception.2

The "no helmet" freedom people associate with Michigan is conditional. Miss the age, the experience, or the insurance piece, and the helmet is required.

What the repeal changed on the road

Researchers measured the fallout. After the partial repeal, observed helmet use among crash-involved riders fell from about 93% to 71%, and among injured riders taken to trauma centers the head-injury rate climbed from 43.4% to 49.6%, while the share needing neurosurgery nearly doubled, from 3.7% to 6.5%.1 Riders without a helmet had more than double the odds of a head injury.1 Michigan recorded 168 motorcyclist deaths in 2024, up about 2% from the prior year.3

Riding without a helmet is legal for qualifying adults, but it can still cost you in a claim. Michigan follows modified comparative negligence: if you are found more than 50% at fault for your own injuries you recover nothing, and any smaller share of fault cuts your damages by that percentage.4 Expect a defense lawyer to argue that a helmet would have made a head injury less severe.

Lane splitting and filtering are illegal

Michigan does not permit lane splitting. MCL 257.660 says a motorcyclist may not overtake and pass in the same lane as the vehicle being passed, and may not ride between lines of traffic or between rows of vehicles.5 That language covers both lane splitting, threading between moving cars, and filtering, creeping up between stopped cars at a light. Neither is allowed here.

What the same statute protects: a motorcycle is entitled to full use of a traffic lane, and a driver may not crowd a rider out of it.5 Two motorcycles may ride side by side, two abreast, in one lane, but no more than two.5

This becomes important after a crash. If you were splitting lanes when you went down, that violation feeds the other side's comparative-fault argument under MCL 600.2959 and can shrink or erase your recovery.4

You need a CY endorsement to ride

Before you ride on a public road you need a motorcycle (CY) endorsement on your license; a standard driver's license alone does not cover it.6 Michigan offers two routes. You can pass an approved motorcycle safety course, which waives the state knowledge and skills tests, or you can take a Temporary Instruction Permit, pass the vision and written tests, practice on the road with a licensed motorcyclist for up to 180 days, and then pass the skills test.6 Riders who are 16 or 17 also have to show proof of enrollment in an approved rider course.6 The state runs approved training through the Michigan Motorcycle Rider Education Program.7

The endorsement loops back to the helmet rule. That exemption requires two years with an endorsement or a completed safety course, so an unendorsed rider has to wear a helmet at any age.2

The insurance trap most riders miss

Here is the Michigan-specific fact that surprises injured motorcyclists most. A motorcycle is not a "motor vehicle" under Michigan's No-Fault Act.8 A motorcycle policy does not include personal injury protection (PIP) the way a car policy does, so it will not automatically pay your medical bills and lost wages after a wreck.

If a car, truck, or other motor vehicle was involved in your crash, you can still get PIP, but only through a fixed order of priority in MCL 500.3114(5). You look first to the insurer of the owner of the involved motor vehicle, then to that vehicle's driver's insurer, then to your own auto (car) insurer, and finally to the motorcycle's auto insurer.9 If no motor vehicle was involved, a single-bike crash for example, there is usually no PIP to collect at all.

That $20,000 helmet-exemption benefit is not full PIP either. It is a minimum medical amount attached to the helmet rule, not the high-limit or unlimited coverage a car's no-fault policy can carry.2 A serious motorcycle injury runs far past $20,000.

Suing the driver who hit you, and the deadline

Michigan no-fault also limits when you can sue an at-fault driver for pain and suffering. You can recover non-economic damages only if your injury meets one of three thresholds in MCL 500.3135: death, serious impairment of an important body function, or permanent serious disfigurement.10 Many motorcycle injuries clear that bar, but it is a real gate.

The deadline is three years. MCL 600.5805(2) generally gives you three years from the crash date to file a personal injury lawsuit, and the same window covers vehicle-damage claims.11 File late and the claim is gone.

After a crash, get the police report from the Michigan State Police, which sells crash reports for $15 each.12 You can order a Michigan crash report here. If your bike lost resale value from the damage, a Michigan diminished value claim is separate from your injury claim. Because Michigan's no-fault and motorcycle rules interact in ways that trip up careful riders, it's worth talking to a lawyer; you can find a Michigan attorney here.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. The impact of Michigan's partial repeal of the universal motorcycle helmet law on helmet use, fatalities, and head injuries (repeal effective April 13, 2012). PubMed, National Library of Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27854530/

  2. Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.658, crash helmet requirement and the 21-and-over exception. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-257-658

  3. Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 2024 Fact Sheets, motorcyclist fatalities. https://publications.michigantrafficcrashfacts.org/2024/2024FactSheets.pdf

  4. Michigan Legislature, MCL 600.2959, comparative fault and the bar above 50%. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-2959

  5. Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.660, overtaking, full use of a lane, and riding two abreast. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-257-660

  6. Michigan Secretary of State, Motorcycle riders (CY endorsement, safety course, Temporary Instruction Permit). https://www.michigan.gov/sos/license-id/motorcycle-riders

  7. Michigan Secretary of State, Michigan Motorcycle Rider Education Program (MI-REP). https://www.michigan.gov/sos/faqs/license-and-id/michigan-motorcycle-rider-education-program

  8. Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3101, No-Fault Act definitions (motorcycles are not motor vehicles). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-500-3101

  9. Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3114, order of priority for personal injury protection benefits. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3114

  10. Michigan Legislature, MCL 500.3135, tort liability and the serious-injury threshold. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3135

  11. Michigan Legislature, MCL 600.5805, three-year limitation period for injury and property damage. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-5805

  12. Michigan State Police, Traffic Crash Reporting Unit. https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/cjic/traffic-crash-reporting-unit

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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