Based on a story titled “Despite Death Toll, Motorcycle Groups Strive To Muzzle US Regulators” published by a watchdog investigative website called Fairwarning.org, many newspapers and several TV outlets picked this source to claim that the percentage of motorcyclists fatalities doesn’t stop to get larger every year. Infuriated by this misleading story , MRF (Motorcycle Riders Foundation) publishes these official statistics: In 1997, there were 2,116 fatalities for 3,826,000 motorcycles registered. Or 0.055%. In 2010, there were 4,502 fatalities for 8,368,000 motorcycles registered. Or 0.053%. Of course, it’s too many, but in reality a stable percentage. (registered doesn’t mean on the road every year, but there is no way to know the exact number of bikes being ridden and how often)
COMMENT,
- Stats can be twisted to match anyone’s agenda. I checked out the Fairwarning article. They talked about the increase in deaths with the same numbers that Cyril listed, but did not show the increase of 4.5 million registered bikes, a convenient omission. More bikes = more deaths, it’s the nature of the beast.
