I fall into the over 40 and back into riding category. I rode from about 10 years when I was a young and poor. Only thing is NOW I took MSF course and practice stuff in parking lot every couple weeks... I ride real defensive now but have had some close calls in the last 2 years and been lucky. The ones I have seen not so lucky have all been on Sport Bikes, I have witnessed personally 3 Sport bikes crash since starting back as a rider... all speed related at a minimum.. no telling what there drug, alchohol, or experience was. Now I realize that Cruisers get into accidents also, but I am curious as to the ratio between the two...

Alsoafter my recent experience witha certainSport Bike M/C and the riding antics they displayed,I have lost a lot of respect for the Sport Bike crowd... I have gotten to the point that when I see a sport bike around me I automatically assume they will do something stupid and probably dangerous...

 

Hi,

Any chance of a link to those stats?

Hough's books are "Proficient Motorcycling" and "More Proficient Motorcycling"
I read them both on the advice of members here and am a much better/safer rider for having done it.

 

7 deaths per 1000 motorcycles! HOLY CRAP. In Sweden we have 230'000 registered motorcycles and about 55 deaths a year. That's about 0.24 deaths per 1000 motorcycles. What are you doing over there?

Edit: Just saw in another post that those numbers (7/1000) are probably incorrect.

 

This was on CNN just this past week, so it's about as current as you can find. I don't have the link

NEW YORK - Safety group reports that motorcyclist fatalities have more than doubled over the last decade, accounting for 11 percent of overall highway fatalities.


-- Riders of supersport motorcycles have a death rate that's three times as high as the overall average for motorbikes, said a study Tuesday.

There were 22.5 deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles in 2005, compared to 7.5 deaths per 10,000 for all types of motorcycles, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

There were 4,050 motorcycle-related fatalities in 2005.

Supersport motorcycles have more powerful engines than most other bikes, and they are lighter, typically having more horsepower per pound than other types.

Many have higher horsepower per pound ratios than Nascar vehicles, and can reach speeds of 190 miles per hour.

"Supersport motorcycles are indeed nimble and quick, but they also can be deadly," said Anne McCartt, IIHS's senior vice president for research. "These bikes made up less than 10 percent of registered motorcycles in 2005 but accounted for over 25 percent of rider deaths. Their insurance losses were elevated, too."

Speeding and driver error caused more of the fatal crashes with supersport bikes, compared to other classes, with 57 percent of supersport riders' fatal crashes involving high speeds in 2005. This compares to 46 percent of the crashes of sport bikes, 27 percent of cruiser cases, and 22 percent of touring.

"Supersport motorcycles have such elevated crash death rates and insurance losses because many people ride them as if they were on a racetrack," McCartt said. "Short of banning supersport and sport motorcycles from public roadways, capping the speed of these street-legal racing machines at the factory might be one way to reduce their risk."

Supersport motorcycles are also popular targets for thieves. Their average theft loss payments per insured vehicle year were more than 7 times higher than the average for all 2002-06 bikes.

The second highest death rate was for sport and unclad sport bikes, which are similar to supersports, with 10.7 deaths per 10,000 motorcycles.

Rates for other motorcycles were much lower. Cruisers and standards had a death rate of 5.7 per 10,000 bikes in 2005. The rate for touring motorcycles was 5.3 per 10,000.

At the same time, helmet use fell, with only 51 percent of riders now wearing helmets certified by the Department of Transportation, down from 71 percent five years ago.

Overall motorcycle ridership is rising, with registrations climbing 51 percent between 2000 and 2005.

Supersport bikes have seen some of the largest growth, with registrations rising 83 percent in that five-year period.

N/A
money.cnn.com

 

Thanks for the encouragement! 7 in 1000 reduced by 75% is only a 0.175% chance of motorcycle death. That's probably the same death rate as the activity of emptying knives out of the dishwasher and a heck of a lot lower death rate than obesity.

 

There are two distinct groups where fatalities are out of proportion: The sport bike riders, especially among young riders, and inexperienced riders older than 40 . They are skewing the stats for the rest of us who have ridden for years.

 

7 of 10,000 not 7 of 1,000 (less 75%). I revise my statement to 0.0175% chance of being killed on a motorcycle. Not bad at all.

 

There is a new study just funded for motorcycle accidents. The University of Oklahoma will be conducting it.

The Hurt Study is extremely outdated, but I believe most of the findings still relevant. For those who have never read it, here's a link with its 55 statements concerning the causes of accident stats.

http://www.magpie.com/nycmoto/hurt.html

 

I'll be the one to bring up the issue of helmet use only because of the recent NTSB recommendation. The helmet use debate really gets me stirred up because it has consumed all government efforts at the NTSB and NHTSA to address motorcycle safety. Plain and simple, existing accident data at the NHTSA does not support helmet use as the most important factor in motorcycle safety. The goal of these two government bodies should be to prevent as many deaths as possible, but focusing solely on helmet use they ignore the over 55% of riders who die while wearing a helmet. Even if helmet use was made manditory, you still would not prevent all the deaths of non-helmet riders. There are other factors that these government bodies are ignoring that are more hightly correlated to motorcycle fatalities.

 

Good post lencap... I think you hit the mark w/the idea of just raising ourawareness level a bit. The numbers are a concern of everyone, because no one wants to see that the one activity they enjoy the most is potentially the most dangerous activity they could participate it. Therefore, a lot of emotions get stirred up because of the numbers.

I personally see the jist of what he is saying - that there are some common factors that are found in many of the accidents that take place; such as speed, alcohol, drugs, unlicensed (no "M") drivers, never taken a safety course, age, and safety equipment (but not helmets - they don't help).Lencap further pointed out that by paying attention to some of the factors found commonly in accidents and taking preventive measures like practicing and being aware ofconditions that diminish our abilities to ride at our best (like cold weather), that we can DRAMATICALLY decrease our chances of becoming one of those skewed statistics. All superb points! I think it was good post that brought up some very valid points that could raise awareness. Thanks Lencap

MNGPRider, I agree the initial numbersLencap posted are probably notcorrect and you certainly break the percentages downmuch better. Thanks.