OFF THE WIRE
MOTORCYCLIST FATALITIES INEXPLICABLY PLUMMET Following more than a decade of steady increases, motorcycle rider fatalities unaccountably dipped by double-digit proportions last year. Motorcyclist deaths dropped by 16% nationwide through the first three quarters of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008 when fatalities reached their highest level of 5,290.
The study -- sponsored by the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state traffic safety agencies -- is drawn from preliminary fatality data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. While there is nothing in the data to indicate the cause of the sudden decline, the GHSA asked state safety agencies to speculate on reasons for the decline, and several respondents pointed to the economy and underscored that a significant portion of motorcycling is for recreation rather than transportation.
Other reasons cited in the study for the decline: Fewer beginning motorcyclists; an increase in priority given to state motorcycle safety programs; an increased awareness of motorcycles by other drivers; and colder, wetter weather in some states during the riding season. It doesn't appear helmet laws played a significant role in the decline.
The popularity of motorcycles has surged in the past decade, particularly among aging baby boomers and women, nearly doubling to more than 10 million.
During the nine-month period of the comparison, the District and 38 states reported a drop in motorcycle deaths, and 12 states recorded an increase. California had 133 fewer deaths, Florida had 111 fewer and Ohio had 48 fewer. Only two states -- Hawaii and Rhode Island -- had double-digit increases. Once numbers for the final three months of 2009 are factored in, the report projects, the annual fatality decline will be at least 10%.
AGING RIDERS AT HIGHER RISK Motorcycle riders across the country are growing older, and the impact of this trend is evident in emergency rooms nationwide as doctors are finding that senior citizens who ride motorcycles are more likely to be involved in accidents and also more likely to be injured or die than their younger counterparts.
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that half of all motorcyclists needing emergency treatment in 2005 were over 40, nearly double the number in 1996, which is consistent with demographic data indicating that the average age of motorcycle ownership has rose from 33 years in 1998 to 40 years in 2003. Injury severity, length of stay in the hospital or intensive care unit, and mortality were higher for riders over the age of 40.
In the study, which was published in the March issue of the American Surgeon, researchers using the National Trauma Databank reviewed the records of 61,689 motorcyclists aged 17 to 89 years involved in a motorcycle crash between 1996 and 2005.
Those ages 50-59 were the fastest growing group involved with crashes, and accidents involving riders in that age group were almost twice as likely to be fatal as those involving younger bikers.
"Treating a 60-year-old who has been in a motorcycle accident is very different from treating a 21-year-old who has been in a similar accident -- 60-year-olds bring a lot more medical baggage with them and impact outcomes," Dr. Mark Gestring, director of the trauma program at the Medical Center.
Age-related factors associated with aging, such as impaired vision, delayed reaction time, and altered balance contribute to motorcycle crashes in this population.
The increase in injury severity for older riders may be related to the reduced capacity to withstand injury as the body ages, including decreases in bone strength and brain size, as well as pre-existing medical conditions.
NATURALISTIC MOTORCYCLE SAFETY STUDY The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) has announced that it will partner with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) on the world’s first motorcycle safety study that will use small video recorders and instrumentation mounted on numerous bikes for 6-18 months to gather data about the riders and events that occur.
Termed a "naturalistic" study, VTTI has developed this technology and used it successfully to conduct a 100-car study in 2005 that included 69 crashes and more than 750 near-crashes. According to the MSF, "The method is presently in use by researchers across the globe to target nearly every type of roadway user, with the exception of two-wheeled vehicles. This study, expected to be on the road by early 2011, will greatly advance the understanding of interactions among rider, motorcycle, roadway, other roadway users and the environment."
VTTI Director Tom Dingus added that “We expect the study to be very valuable to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s work, since we also will examine where and how crash avoidance is successful. With so much information bandwidth coming from the cameras and instrumentation on each bike, we’ll be able to examine details for years, and the findings will be relevant for decades."
Naturalistic Method identifies crashes using time-series video and numeric data, reveals factors not detectable through crash investigation, creates its own controls by comparing the crash-involved rider to himself/herself at all other times, and permits quantification of rider performance and behavior in non-critical and critical riding situations.
GLOBAL MARKETS BOOST MOTORCYCLE SALES While U.S. motorcycle sales continue to drift downward, globally Honda bucked the trend by posting a 30% sales gain for first quarter of 2010, reflecting 2.54 million motorcycles sold outside of Japan.
Sales in the American market dropped 21% during the first quarter of 2010, a less precipitous slip than the previous year's 37% slide, but the rising demand for small displacement bikes in Asian markets helped the juggernaut manufacturer post a $2.68 billion profit for the last fiscal year, a staggering 95.9% increase over the prior year.
We may find consolation in the U.S. market since our sales are sliding less steeply than before, but the evolving global marketplace is not only motivating companies like Volkswagen to purchase one fifth of Suzuki, such international sales figures are also prompting manufacturers like U.S. stalwart Harley-Davidson to divert their efforts into regions like India.
PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS BARRED FROM MINERS MEMORIAL Many of the 29 West Virginia coal miners who died at the Upper Big Branch mining explosion on April 5th were veterans and some rode motorcycles, so bereaved families had requested the Patriot Guard Riders to attend the memorial service. PGR is an informal group of motorcyclists which exists to make sure that all veterans are given respectful funerals. But they were barred from attending this service by federal officials who labeled them a security threat.
The appearance of the Patriot Guard Riders at the service, at the request of several families, had been cleared in advance by West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, who is also a motorcycle rider. But the day before the service, Joe Cumblidge, the West Virginia State Captain of the Patriot Guard Riders e-mailed the men who were scheduled to participate: “Due to circumstances totally and completely beyond the control of the Patriot Guard Riders and Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia, we are regrettably ordering a STAND DOWN for this mission. Specific details will not be posted here but, we’ve been told we are not welcome to participate because of certain high-level dignitaries that are scheduled to be in attendance.”
The “high-level dignitaries” were President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. A Patriot Guard Rider told WSAZ in Charleston that Manchin had been forbidden to allow them to participate “because of overwhelming security concerns with high-ranking federal officials -- it was just not logistically possible for them to be a part of the event.”
Both Obama and Biden managed to escape West Virginia unharmed.
LEGAL CHALLENGES TO MICHIGAN HELMET LAW Several members of ABATE of Michigan rode to the Lenawee County judicial building on Tuesday, April 20th to show support for a fellow motorcyclist who is challenging a non-compliant helmet ticket. Ryan Hildebrand, 26, is one of nearly a dozen riders ticketed this spring by Adrian police Sgt. Lynn Courington for wearing helmets that the state claims do not meet federal Department of Transportation standards.
Representing the group of ticketed riders is Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) attorney Lawrence “Katman” Katkowsky, who filed an appearance for the helmet defendant. A formal hearing was set for June 29 in district court, and Katkowsky said he will try to consolidate all the helmet infraction cases that are being challenged for the June 29 hearing. “The issues are all the same,” he said.
He is taking on the helmet enforcement issue in Lenawee County on behalf of ABATE of Michigan, which also has a lawsuit pending in United State District Court in Grand Rapids, challenging the state’s DOT helmet rule.
One of the enforcement issues Katkowsky will raise is regarding probable cause to justify a traffic stop on a civil infraction. ABATE claims in the lawsuit that police have to look inside a helmet to determine if it meets DOT standards, and therefore cannot claim plain sight evidence to justify a traffic stop and request to inspect a helmet. No trial date is scheduled.
ANGRY FRENCH MOTORCYCLISTS SNARL TRAFFIC IN PROTEST Forty thousand motorcyclists demonstrated all over France in protest of a recent Government announcement to fine any bikers caught filtering through traffic (“lane splitting”), and more than 60 cities saw their roads blocked by hordes of angry riders who said NON to French authorities who propose to treat motorbikes, scooters and mopeds like cars and require them to stay in their lane one behind another.
So, they behaved like cars! On March 13th the La Fédération Française Des Motards en Colère (FFMC - the French Federation of Angry Bikers) urged all motorcyclists to occupy the space of one car in each lane, and within minutes an enormous traffic jam was created that gridlocked the whole of Paris on a busy Saturday afternoon as car drivers were stuck in traffic until late in the evening.
While bikers blocked the roadways above ground, other protestors went underground bringing the subway system to a grinding halt in response to a statement made by French Transport Secretary Jean-Marc Belotti, who said “If they (bikers) are not happy, they can take the metro like everyone else.”
They inconvenience us, we will inconvenience them, responded the FFMC, which set a fine example of civil obedience to demonstrate the impact of motorcycles on traffic flow, good or bad.
WEIRD NEWS: EASY WRITERS TEXT WHILE RIDING Everyone knows that texting while driving can be dangerous. Now consider this: texting while riding a motorcycle, in heavy traffic! It's not uncommon in Vietnam, where 29 million motorcycles are the primary source of transportation.
Pham Thi Thuy Linh is 21, a college student and -- according to a recent contest sponsored by a mobile phone company -- has the fastest fingers in Vietnam. She can text 160 characters in 25 seconds, though she admits she is “about 20 or 30 percent slower texting on my bike.” She doesn't much care that texting while driving is both illegal and not too smart.
Tran Van Thanh is a senior official in the government's office of traffic safety. He told National Public Radio that understands the concerns about texting while driving, but says peoples’ bad habits will take time to change, and with limited resources it’s impossible to crack down on everyone for everything.
Meanwhile, contest-winner Pham says she can't wait to get one of the new iPhone packages. She says it will enable her to text even faster than she does now, from everywhere -- including her bike.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Senator Barry Goldwater (1909-1998) U.S. Senator from Arizona
