Article about Motorcycling and number of fatalities

I copied this from the Indianapolis Star:

In Indiana, cycle deaths rise at twice the U.S. rate
More are riding with less training, safety expert says.


By Jane Charney
jane.charney@indystar.com


Indiana motorcycle deaths rose last year at nearly twice the national pace, State Police say, a trend that one expert says is linked to a lack of training.

In 2004, 96 motorcyclists died in Indiana, an 18.5 percent increase from 2003, according to the Indiana State Police. Nationally, 4,008 motorcycle riders were killed in highway accidents in 2004. That's a 9.5 percent increase from 2003, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported this week.

Registered motorcycles in Indiana increased to about 150,000 in 2004 from 98,000 in 1998, according to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Untrained owners riding powerful machines they cannot handle is the major reason for the increase in fatalities, said John Bodeker, the State Motorcycle Safety Program coordinator.

Riders ages 40-50, who used to ride and decided to return to motorcycles later in life, now face different traffic patterns, higher speeds and more aggressive drivers, Bodeker said.

Alcohol also plays a role. Nationally, according to the highway administration, alcohol was involved in about 50 percent of fatalities in single-vehicle motorcycle crashes.

The highway administration's report also points to less-restrictive helmet laws as contributing to the national death increase.

In Indiana, only riders under 18 or those carrying a permit must wear helmets.

[Keep in mind - here in the USA proposing a mandatory helmet law is political suicide because the thick Harley-Davidson riders will fight its passage.]

I read a post a couple of days ago that in the last year deaths of bikers in Florida has risen 80% since the helmet law was repealed.

SirHailstone said:

[Keep in mind - here in the USA proposing a mandatory helmet law is political suicide because the thick Harley-Davidson riders will fight its passage.]

Click to expand...

All they really have to do is to look at countries where wearing helmts has become compulsory and compare death and serious injury levels before and after.

In reality, it perhaps doesn't matter if you die. But it's a serious crimp in your life if you have a serious head injury that leaves you as a vegetable or simply seriously disabled.

The simple way to solve it would be for the US insurance companies, including the health insurers, to refuse cover to people who weren't riding with adequate protective clothing.


The same arguments were raised over compulsory seat-belts in cars. But the data speak for themselves. In fact, one reason we have such a serious shortage of donor organs for transplant is that fewer driver die than before.