It’s a dramatic example of how helmets can save the lives of motorcyclists.

Laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets started to become the norm in the 70s, but as the federal government stopped applying pressure on states to require helmet laws, many states, including Michigan, started revoking them. Eric Teoh of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that’s not been a good thing.

“If we had always had laws requiring every rider to wear a helmet, we would have saved about 22,000 lives since 1976,” Teoh said.

Teoh says the elimination of Michigan’s helmet law in 2010 has cost 267 lives.

Opponents of helmet law say it should be a matter of personal choice and responsibility.