“We” commonly blame “them” – (you know – those unenlightened people on four wheels) – for most of the serious accidents involving motorcycles because we think that “they” don’t pay attention and don’t see us.
Since it’s “our” lives on the line, I think “we” need to take a step back and re-evaluate our thinking in light of some cold, hard facts.
The truth is, the leading cause of serious motorcycle accidents is rider error -especially rider error while drinking. Older riders – those who are 40 years old and older – are the fastest growing group in accident statistics. And most of those are getting hurt or killed on bikes with between 1,000 and 1,500 cc engines.
In case you missed it, folks – that “fastest growing group” would be “us.”
Overall sales of new on-road motorcycles increased more than 162% from 1997 through 2003, from 247,000 to 648,000 units. This increase coincided with a 69.8% increase in the number of motorcyclist traffic fatalities during that period, from 2,116 in 1997 to 3,592 in 2003. The mortality rate increase is largely restricted to older motorcycle drivers.
Although the proportion fatal crashes involving alcohol declined from 48.6% in 1983 to 29.5% in 2003, the decline has been comparatively small among motorcyclists over 40 years of age. Mortality rates for over 40 riders may be increasing not only because more persons in this age group are riding motorcycles, but also because older motorcyclists might now be more likely to consume alcohol before riding than younger riders. Older riders might also be more likely to limit their riding to recreational trips on weekends under circumstances involving drinking.
According to a recent study, running off the road, usually in a curve, often involving alcohol, and almost always a ‘single vehicle’ accident accounts for 41 percent of the total motorcycle fatalities.
Running of a traffic signal in an intersection, most often a stop sign and most often by the other vehicle, accounts for 18 percent of the total accidents.
Oncoming, head-on crashes accounts for 11 percent of the total. Very few of these were in intersections and a few were on divided roads. About half were on straight roads and the other half on curves. 58 percent of all these crashes result from the motorcycle rider’s failure to stay in lane or using excessive speed.
Left-turn oncoming crashes, are the fourth most common crash type accounting for 8 percent of the total. The left-turn is almost always being made by the other vehicle and not the motorcycle, i.e. – the motorcycle almost always has the right of way.
Accidents where the motorcyclist loses control of the bike (including deliberately ‘dumping’ it) and it goes down on the roadway, accounted for another 7 percent of the total. These usually occurred on dry, level, and straight roads.
These five categories account for about 86 percent of all the fatalities looked at.
“He didn’t see me” excuses could only be used in about half the ‘running traffic signal’ and ‘oncoming’ situations as well as most of those categorized as ‘left-turns.” In other words, no more than about 20 percent of all these fatalities involved a second vehicle that could have claimed not to see the motorcyclist.
That’s a long way from “most.”
The good news is that once we accept that we are our own worst enemy, we can acquire the skills, experience and thought processes to eliminate the cause of most accidents – our own foolish mistakes. With the right training and attitude, and a little practice any of us should be able to look forward to a long and healthy riding career.
Think about it, and ride safe. – Don Oldaker – Safety Officer