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ESCANABA -- Motorcyclists in Michigan could soon be able to legally ride without a helmet.  Two appeals are currently pending in legislature.

One bill would allow riders 21 or older to go helmet-less if they carry at least $20,000 in personal injury insurance.  The other would allow riders 21 or older to go helmet-less if riders pass a safety course or carry a motorcycle endorsement on their license for the previous two years.

Chances are, you've heard motorcycle helmet survival stories like Joy McKnight's.

"(My son) was airlifted out of the dunes with a closed head injury.  If he had not had a helmet, he would have died on site," says Joy McKnight of SmartUSA.  She's been a motorcycle safety instructor for six years and has been riding since she was 12.

But Gerry Spomer, member of ABATE of Michigan, Region 17 has been riding since he was 12 as well and says it's not as often we hear the 'other' stories about motorcycle helmets, but they exist.

"We weren't wearing our helmets, and (my wife) was in the median in the interstate, and she sprained her neck," says Spomer, recalling a motorcycle accident he was involved in.

She survived the accident.  He believes in this circumstance, if his wife had been wearing a helmet, it could have actually killed her.  He says he feels more at risk when wearing a helmet, citing the loss of hearing, heat and general distractions it causes as dangers on the road.  He says he hasn't found any reliable evidence that wearing a helmet is safer at the speeds he travels.

"You're much more aware of what's going on around you if you're not looking through that plastic shield," he said.  "What good is it?  What kind of protection is it giving me?  None."

Spomer believes removing the mandatory helmet guidelines would boost tourism and ridership among cyclists who currently refuse to ride on Michigan roads due to the law.  His group estimates it could generate more than $1.2 billion revenue and 2,700 jobs.

"Motorcyclists turn around at the Menominee Bridge," he said.  "They will not come here.  We've asked motorists from surrounding states to come to the U.P.;  85 percent say, 'We will when you get them to repeal the helmet law.'"

But others say repealing the law would drastically drive up the cost of auto and health insurance; most importantly that it's not what the people want.  According to a AAA of Michigan survey, 81 percnet of voters want the helmet law to stay.

"I don't think it's anything people would want to see or could afford," McKnight says.  "It's a safety issue and an economic issue."

Spomer says he's found no evidence insurance rates will climb.

"We ask them how they get these numbers, they don't tell us.  They just make this stuff up," Spomer says.

"(A helmet) doesn't restrict vision, it's not hotter," McKnight said.  "If that is the case, you need a better helmet that has ventilation."