Article from todays USA Today below. The last sentence is interesting. I
know more regulation is bad but there is something to be said for a
compulsory one year 250 cc limit. It'd weed out a lot of those that thought
a motorcycle was a good idea at the time...some of those mid-life crisis
first timers would probably not even bother (too embarrassed to be seen on a
250 or they might get over it if they have to wait a year to get their
VX1800 or Hayabusa)...those that really want to be a motorcyclist will get
some valuable learning experience without being thrown in at the deep
end...biggest downside would be the reduced availability of cheap, low
mileage bikes!...anyway just throwing it out for discussion...
MOTORCYCLE DEATHS RISE AGAIN
WASHINGTON (AP) - More motorcycle riders are dying in crashes, and federal
officials want to know why.
A National Highway Transportation Safety Administration study released
Tuesday shows that 2,472 people were killed in motorcycle accidents in 1999,
the largest number since 1991. It was also the second straight year that the
number of fatalities rose over the year before.
The number of deaths rose 17% between 1997 and 1999.
The increase mirrors a rise in the number of motorcycles on the road. There
were 4.2 million motorcycles registered in 1999, up 9% from 3.8 million in
1997.
"Unfortunately, the increase in motorcycle popularity has been followed by a
rise in fatalities," Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said.
Motorcyclists are much more likely to die in a crash than the driver of a
passenger car. For every 100 million miles traveled, 1.9 automobile drivers
died in an accident compared with 36.5 motorcyclists.
Officials are stumped as to the reason for the increase in deaths. NHTSA,
along with state officials, motorcycle manufacturers and others, are trying
to find out why deaths are rising again.
The federal agency has proposed a safety program that would include letting
the states, who license motorcyclists, learn of the best training programs;
pushing anew for motorcyclists to wear helmets and to not drink and drive;
teaching car and truck drivers to be more aware of motorcyclists; and
studying new braking systems for motorcycles.
The NHTSA study found that 41% of motorcyclists in fatal crashes were
speeding, that almost half who died in single vehicle crashes were driving
under the influence of alcohol, and that almost one in six motorcycle riders
were driving without a valid license.
Most of the increases in deaths are among riders 40 and older, rising from
699 in 1997 to 968 in 1999. But the greatest number of fatalities remain
among riders between the ages of 20 and 29, growing from 694 in 1997 to 758
in 1999.
At the same time, older motorcyclists had a lower fatality rate than those
aged 20 to 39.
Also, almost 52% of fatal accidents occurred on rural roads in 1999, as
compared with 47% on urban streets. In 1990, 55% of fatal motorcycle crashes
took place in urban areas, compared with 45% in rural areas.
Motorcycles are getting bigger. In 1990, the average size of a motorcycle in
a fatal crash was 769 cubic centimeters. In 1999, the average size was 922
cc.
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