Motorcycle Fatalities Soar As Car Deaths Drop
More people are riding motorcycles in the US than ever before, and more of them now die in crashes.
If you're involved in a motorcycle crash, your odds of being injured or killed are 80 percent, compared to people in car crashes, whose risk of injury or death is only 20 per cent.
In 2008, more than 5000 bikers died in crashes, the highest number since the government started publishing crash statistics in 1975.
The same year, number of car and truck fatalities dropped to the lowest since 1975.
Between 2000 and 2008, motorcycle registrations grew from 4.
3 million to 7.
7 million, a 79 per cent increase.
Motorcyclists aren't just getting more numerous, they're also getting older.
In the 1980's the typical bike owner was 24, and in 1998, they were 38.
In 2009, the typical owner is 43.
Fatality statistics reflect that demographic: in 1990 the average age of a fatally injured rider was 30; in 2008 it was 40.
The bad odds for bikers in crashes, and the growing death toll have the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety worried.
They and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and others are looking for ways to keep bikers safe.
The Institute started by asking bikers about their riding habits, and their views on helmet laws and antilock brakes, two of the major technologies for protecting riders.
In 2009 they conducted a large telephone survey, talking to more than 1800 bikers in all age groups.
They learned that 73 percent of riders always wore a helmet, and another 9 percent often did.
The two age groups with the highest rate of helmet use were younger riders, 18-29 years, and older riders, those 50 and over.
The youngest riders tend to take the biggest risks, so their commitment to helmets is encouraging.
The largest group of riders is that middle cohort, 30-50, and their lower commitment to helmets means that they will continue to suffer higher rates of serious injuries and fatalities than if they wore helmets.
Riders of all ages said that mandatory helmet laws would have a strong effect on their helmet use.
Riders may not like helmet laws, but they recognize they keep them safe.
About half of riders surveyed said they believed that antilock brakes improve braking effectiveness and safety, and about half said their next bike would have antilock brakes.
The Institute's survey shows that bikers know the tools that can lower accident risk and protect them when they do crash.
It's up to them to make use of the tools.
It's their lives on the line.
If you're involved in a motorcycle crash, your odds of being injured or killed are 80 percent, compared to people in car crashes, whose risk of injury or death is only 20 per cent.
In 2008, more than 5000 bikers died in crashes, the highest number since the government started publishing crash statistics in 1975.
The same year, number of car and truck fatalities dropped to the lowest since 1975.
Between 2000 and 2008, motorcycle registrations grew from 4.
3 million to 7.
7 million, a 79 per cent increase.
Motorcyclists aren't just getting more numerous, they're also getting older.
In the 1980's the typical bike owner was 24, and in 1998, they were 38.
In 2009, the typical owner is 43.
Fatality statistics reflect that demographic: in 1990 the average age of a fatally injured rider was 30; in 2008 it was 40.
The bad odds for bikers in crashes, and the growing death toll have the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety worried.
They and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and others are looking for ways to keep bikers safe.
The Institute started by asking bikers about their riding habits, and their views on helmet laws and antilock brakes, two of the major technologies for protecting riders.
In 2009 they conducted a large telephone survey, talking to more than 1800 bikers in all age groups.
They learned that 73 percent of riders always wore a helmet, and another 9 percent often did.
The two age groups with the highest rate of helmet use were younger riders, 18-29 years, and older riders, those 50 and over.
The youngest riders tend to take the biggest risks, so their commitment to helmets is encouraging.
The largest group of riders is that middle cohort, 30-50, and their lower commitment to helmets means that they will continue to suffer higher rates of serious injuries and fatalities than if they wore helmets.
Riders of all ages said that mandatory helmet laws would have a strong effect on their helmet use.
Riders may not like helmet laws, but they recognize they keep them safe.
About half of riders surveyed said they believed that antilock brakes improve braking effectiveness and safety, and about half said their next bike would have antilock brakes.
The Institute's survey shows that bikers know the tools that can lower accident risk and protect them when they do crash.
It's up to them to make use of the tools.
It's their lives on the line.
Source...