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"July 1, 2007
Handlebars
For Riders, Risk Is Growing
By MATTHEW L. WALD
RETURNING to the office from lunch on his 2007 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle
one day this spring, Lou O’Connell got a glimpse into the future, if only
by two seconds or so. A car pulled out of a shopping center in Weston,
Fla., near Fort Lauderdale, and into his path. He could see that he was
going to hit the car.
Mr. O’Connell said that although he did not expect to be killed in the
impending crash — becoming one of the 5,000 or so motorcycle riders who
will die on American roads this year if recent trends continue — he knew
that at the very least he was about to go flying over the handlebars.
But then there was a bang and a cloud of powder in front of him. Though the
front of his bike had slammed the passenger side of a black Nissan 350Z,
Mr. O’Connell found himself nearly uninjured — intact enough to lay down
the bike and stride over with some well-chosen words for the car’s driver.
Mr. O’Connell’s accident was, so far as Honda knows, the first in which the
air bag of a motorcycle deployed to protect a rider. At least for now, the
air bag is an option only on the big Gold Wing touring bikes, which cost
nearly $25,000 fully equipped with features like heated handgrips and
antilock brakes.
“It’s amazing,” said Mr. O’Connell, who escaped with only bruises on his
shins. Without the air bag, his injuries might have been serious: Florida
relaxed its helmet law in July 2000, and he had been seduced by good
weather to ride without one. “It was so nice, I couldn’t resist, and I
couldn’t resist the American dream,” Mr. O’Connell, an immigrant from
Ireland, said. “The American dream is to ride a motorcycle without a
helmet.”
Honda began development of motorcycle air bags in 1990 and tested the
system for a decade before making it available on the Gold Wing for 2007. A
Honda spokesman, Jon Row, emphasized that the air bag was something of a
last measure in today’s safety technology, and is not intended to replace
the need to wear a helmet.
Mr. O’Connell, 40, and the father of two young children, said the accident
persuaded him to wear his helmet whenever he rides.
The crash was something of a milestone in motorcycle safety, one of the few
positive developments in recent years. Riding a motorcycle is becoming
riskier. Deaths last year increased by 5.4 percent over 2005, according to
preliminary estimates of the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System,
and are up for the ninth consecutive year. Deaths have increased 125
percent over 10 years, a period in which registrations rose more than 50
percent.
Even when adjusted for more bikes covering more miles, the picture is grim.
While the death rate for people in vehicles fell by about 17 percent for
each mile traveled over that period, the rate for motorcycle riders more
than doubled, according to the report.
That timeline coincides with factors including a rising average age of
riders, more powerful engines and the repeal of state laws requiring
universal helmet use, in part a result of pressure applied by lobby groups
that persuaded legislators to “let the rider decide.” Wearing a helmet cuts
the risk of death by about 37 percent, according to Ted R. Miller, a
researcher at the Pacific institute for Research and Evaluation. Making
helmets mandatory increases use because police officers can check
compliance at a glance.
Measuring the effect of motorcycle helmet law repeals is tricky because of
factors like the increase in motorcycle sales. Still, the numbers are
powerful. Texas, which loosened its laws in 1977 and then reinstated
universal coverage in 1989, again backed down on the regulations in 1997
for riders over 21; fatalities shot up 31 percent in the first year after
the law was relaxed. A study in Florida sponsored by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration found that in the two years after that state
repealed its universal helmet law in 2000, fatalities for every 10,000
motorcycles were up 21 percent, compared with 13 percent nationally.
At the National Transportation Safety Board, the death toll has not gone
unnoticed because it is now larger than the number of deaths in airplane,
marine, railroad and pipeline accidents combined. Deborah A. P. Hersman, a
member of the board who presided over a two-day motorcycle safety forum
last September, said in an e-mail message, “This is the only mode of
transportation in which the overall number of fatalities and the rate of
fatalities continue to steadily rise, and yet there is no public outcry.”
While it might seem that older riders would be more experienced and less
likely to take risks, other factors may lie behind their portion of the
fatality increases.
“It’s the baby boomers,” said Barbara L. Harsha, executive director of the
Governors Highway Safety Association, a Washington-based group of state
officials. Many riders are returning to bikes years after having given up
riding, and “they don’t realize how powerful the bikes are,” she said.
Government statistics support, in raw numbers at least, the assertion about
older riders, even if the data cannot assign blame for the fatal crashes.
Umesh Shankar, an analyst at the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, said that the number of fatalities among riders 40 and over
had more than tripled.
The industry, though, says the statistics are misleading. The Motorcycle
Industry Council, a trade association, says that the fatality rate — which
takes into account miles traveled — has been calculated incorrectly, in
part because the Transportation Department does not accurately tally the
number of miles ridden. For instance, government statistics say motorcycles
traveled 9.6 billion miles in 2003; the industry council’s research says
they actually traveled 20.6 billion miles.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation, which is allied with the industry
council, does agree that returning riders can be a problem. Dean L.
Thompson, a spokesman for the safety group, said that older riders should
“not be in denial about their skills, which decline over time.” Riders
should know their limits, he said.
With gasoline prices high, some riders are putting more miles on their
bikes. Mr. O’Connell, the Gold Wing owner, loves to ride but also uses the
bike in his business. He is a commercial real estate broker, and says when
he arrives to show a property, the big Honda impresses customers.
The industry’s consistent message is that more rider training will reduce
the number of deaths. Last fall, Ms. Hersman took a basic rider course, and
got a motorcycle endorsement on her Virginia drivers license.
Ms. Hersman may be better prepared than most riders; according to the
industry, only about 38 percent of riders have taken an organized rider
education course. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation urges riders to take
recurrent safety courses, wear protective gear and not ride while impaired.
Air bags, which have cut the fatality rate in cars, are not adaptable to
all motorcycles. They are well suited to touring models like the Gold Wing
or the very popular cruiser bikes, where the rider sits upright, but sport
bikes with a crouched riding position present a design challenge.
Electronic antiskid systems, a technology that has been very effective in
preventing car and truck crashes, are not applicable to two-wheel vehicles,
but traction control devices are already available on many BMW motorcycles.
In addition, BMW offers tire pressure monitoring, which can help riders
prevent problems on the road."
:beer3:
epper1: :mcrider:
Handlebars
For Riders, Risk Is Growing
By MATTHEW L. WALD
RETURNING to the office from lunch on his 2007 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle
one day this spring, Lou O’Connell got a glimpse into the future, if only
by two seconds or so. A car pulled out of a shopping center in Weston,
Fla., near Fort Lauderdale, and into his path. He could see that he was
going to hit the car.
Mr. O’Connell said that although he did not expect to be killed in the
impending crash — becoming one of the 5,000 or so motorcycle riders who
will die on American roads this year if recent trends continue — he knew
that at the very least he was about to go flying over the handlebars.
But then there was a bang and a cloud of powder in front of him. Though the
front of his bike had slammed the passenger side of a black Nissan 350Z,
Mr. O’Connell found himself nearly uninjured — intact enough to lay down
the bike and stride over with some well-chosen words for the car’s driver.
Mr. O’Connell’s accident was, so far as Honda knows, the first in which the
air bag of a motorcycle deployed to protect a rider. At least for now, the
air bag is an option only on the big Gold Wing touring bikes, which cost
nearly $25,000 fully equipped with features like heated handgrips and
antilock brakes.
“It’s amazing,” said Mr. O’Connell, who escaped with only bruises on his
shins. Without the air bag, his injuries might have been serious: Florida
relaxed its helmet law in July 2000, and he had been seduced by good
weather to ride without one. “It was so nice, I couldn’t resist, and I
couldn’t resist the American dream,” Mr. O’Connell, an immigrant from
Ireland, said. “The American dream is to ride a motorcycle without a
helmet.”
Honda began development of motorcycle air bags in 1990 and tested the
system for a decade before making it available on the Gold Wing for 2007. A
Honda spokesman, Jon Row, emphasized that the air bag was something of a
last measure in today’s safety technology, and is not intended to replace
the need to wear a helmet.
Mr. O’Connell, 40, and the father of two young children, said the accident
persuaded him to wear his helmet whenever he rides.
The crash was something of a milestone in motorcycle safety, one of the few
positive developments in recent years. Riding a motorcycle is becoming
riskier. Deaths last year increased by 5.4 percent over 2005, according to
preliminary estimates of the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System,
and are up for the ninth consecutive year. Deaths have increased 125
percent over 10 years, a period in which registrations rose more than 50
percent.
Even when adjusted for more bikes covering more miles, the picture is grim.
While the death rate for people in vehicles fell by about 17 percent for
each mile traveled over that period, the rate for motorcycle riders more
than doubled, according to the report.
That timeline coincides with factors including a rising average age of
riders, more powerful engines and the repeal of state laws requiring
universal helmet use, in part a result of pressure applied by lobby groups
that persuaded legislators to “let the rider decide.” Wearing a helmet cuts
the risk of death by about 37 percent, according to Ted R. Miller, a
researcher at the Pacific institute for Research and Evaluation. Making
helmets mandatory increases use because police officers can check
compliance at a glance.
Measuring the effect of motorcycle helmet law repeals is tricky because of
factors like the increase in motorcycle sales. Still, the numbers are
powerful. Texas, which loosened its laws in 1977 and then reinstated
universal coverage in 1989, again backed down on the regulations in 1997
for riders over 21; fatalities shot up 31 percent in the first year after
the law was relaxed. A study in Florida sponsored by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration found that in the two years after that state
repealed its universal helmet law in 2000, fatalities for every 10,000
motorcycles were up 21 percent, compared with 13 percent nationally.
At the National Transportation Safety Board, the death toll has not gone
unnoticed because it is now larger than the number of deaths in airplane,
marine, railroad and pipeline accidents combined. Deborah A. P. Hersman, a
member of the board who presided over a two-day motorcycle safety forum
last September, said in an e-mail message, “This is the only mode of
transportation in which the overall number of fatalities and the rate of
fatalities continue to steadily rise, and yet there is no public outcry.”
While it might seem that older riders would be more experienced and less
likely to take risks, other factors may lie behind their portion of the
fatality increases.
“It’s the baby boomers,” said Barbara L. Harsha, executive director of the
Governors Highway Safety Association, a Washington-based group of state
officials. Many riders are returning to bikes years after having given up
riding, and “they don’t realize how powerful the bikes are,” she said.
Government statistics support, in raw numbers at least, the assertion about
older riders, even if the data cannot assign blame for the fatal crashes.
Umesh Shankar, an analyst at the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, said that the number of fatalities among riders 40 and over
had more than tripled.
The industry, though, says the statistics are misleading. The Motorcycle
Industry Council, a trade association, says that the fatality rate — which
takes into account miles traveled — has been calculated incorrectly, in
part because the Transportation Department does not accurately tally the
number of miles ridden. For instance, government statistics say motorcycles
traveled 9.6 billion miles in 2003; the industry council’s research says
they actually traveled 20.6 billion miles.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation, which is allied with the industry
council, does agree that returning riders can be a problem. Dean L.
Thompson, a spokesman for the safety group, said that older riders should
“not be in denial about their skills, which decline over time.” Riders
should know their limits, he said.
With gasoline prices high, some riders are putting more miles on their
bikes. Mr. O’Connell, the Gold Wing owner, loves to ride but also uses the
bike in his business. He is a commercial real estate broker, and says when
he arrives to show a property, the big Honda impresses customers.
The industry’s consistent message is that more rider training will reduce
the number of deaths. Last fall, Ms. Hersman took a basic rider course, and
got a motorcycle endorsement on her Virginia drivers license.
Ms. Hersman may be better prepared than most riders; according to the
industry, only about 38 percent of riders have taken an organized rider
education course. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation urges riders to take
recurrent safety courses, wear protective gear and not ride while impaired.
Air bags, which have cut the fatality rate in cars, are not adaptable to
all motorcycles. They are well suited to touring models like the Gold Wing
or the very popular cruiser bikes, where the rider sits upright, but sport
bikes with a crouched riding position present a design challenge.
Electronic antiskid systems, a technology that has been very effective in
preventing car and truck crashes, are not applicable to two-wheel vehicles,
but traction control devices are already available on many BMW motorcycles.
In addition, BMW offers tire pressure monitoring, which can help riders
prevent problems on the road."
:beer3:
epper1: :mcrider:
