Truemors
In 2007, US motorcycle deaths spiked by over six percent. Sadly, this isn't surprising, as fuel prices creep upwards and bikes get more popular with younger people and women, which are two markets previously not as interested in one-wheel drive. Sadly, this is not surprising, since I am unaware of any state or province in which a bike course is mandatory, as drivers' training is. Indeed, one can learn (such as it is) to ride in a parking lot and then take the road test, since it's only a sign-reading test. Yes, the instructors will try to trip you up with school zones and lots of left-turn lanes, but they also won't take you through busy intersections, nor do the tests take place at night. In Canada, one must first take a preliminary test, which involves cones and a parking lot. This is, of course, useless for riding on the street. I assure you, I've never had to swerve out of the way of an oncoming orange cone. In licensing, bike control is assumed, which should not be the case. (Disclosure: I'm a huge bike-course snob, and the stuff I learned has saved my you-know-what on more than one occasion)
Riding is serious- very serious, and it amazes me how many people don't see that. Here in Toronto, the majority of riders are cruising around in shorts and t-shirts... Riding as a squid doesn't make the ride inherently more dangerous, but seriously escalates any potential accident. How good a rider are you? Once you've asked yourself that, how good a driver are those 1,000 cars you'll pass on the way downtown? There are ways to manage the risk.
Deaths of people in cars and trucks, on bicycles or on foot dropped by nearly 2,000 last year, pushing the overall death rate to a historic low. But deaths of motorcyclists surged 6.6 percent, to 5,154; 2007 was the 10th straight year of increase.
This is not a US-only trend, either, as Ontario's Ministry of Transportation reports a similar surge in motorbike-related fatalities over time:
In the introduction to the 2005 Ontario Road Safety Annual Report (ORSAR) released last month, Transportation Minister Jim Bradley states "the number of fatalities on Ontario's roads declined for the third year in a row." It is not until page 27 of the 105-page report where it states that there was a 57 per cent increase in motorcycle riders killed. The largest fatality increase was in the 45-to-65 group. These older riders accounted for half of the fatalities.
Motorcyclists requiring hospital treatment after an accident increased by 14 per cent.
That promise of things to come will remain unfulfilled after the 21-year-old defenceman, who helped Canada win two gold medals at the world junior hockey championship, died Thursday in a motorcycle accident near his hometown of Shippagan, N.B.
Several of our staff and members ride motorcycles or scooters- what do you think?
[jordan always rides with ballistics, as his armored leather jacket and kevlar trousers make him look like a total badass, along with giving him confidence in the corkscrew corners with uneven pavement]
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 16:28 on August 15th, 2008
Hey Solarlife, do you think that the stronger build of cars with all the side impact bars etc. has to be a factor to this increase of deaths? I remember the fear of the mighty Volvo among us motorcyclists in the U.K, The thought of one of those estate cars pulling out from a junction not seeing the biker was, and still is frightening!
at 00:33 on August 16th, 2008
Gibbo, you got the point, pulling out froma junction, not seeing the biker. You have to be fully conscious on a bike, it is not like a car dreaming away. the side impact with a Volvo, with the protected door, not much chance for the biker.