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Posted on 10/30/2007 9:13:57 AM PDT by Incorrigible
By EDWARD WALSH
[Portland, OR] -- Geff Hinds remembers seeing the movie "Easy Rider" as a teenager in the 1970s and thinking, "Oh my, that's what I want to do."
Eventually, Hinds' dream of cruising the open roads faded, replaced by other preoccupations. But, he said, "I told myself I'd take up motorcycling when I'm old."
His time arrived last March.
Hinds, a 53-year-old Web designer from Tacoma, Wash., now feels "old enough" to resume his boyhood fascination with motorcycling. So he's the proud new owner of a black Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic.
Fueled in part by baby boomers such as Hinds taking up — or resuming — motorcycling later in life, the sport is exploding in popularity. Accident data suggest it's also becoming more deadly.
Nationally, the number of registered motorcycles rose 61 percent from 1995 to 2005, from 3.8 million to 6.1 million.
With more motorcycles on the road, it's not surprising there are more accidents and deaths involving bikers. But the fatality rate, as measured by deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles and per million vehicle miles traveled, has steadily climbed at the same time the overall motor vehicle fatality rate has fallen.
The number of motorcycle deaths nationally dropped during the mid-1990s, reaching a low of 2,116 in 1997. But the death toll has increased every year since then; there were a record 4,810 motorcycle deaths in 2006.
There are no simple explanations for why the motorcycle death toll has continued to increase, but in a 2006 analysis of the accident data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said two trends are evident: Today's motorcyclists are older than in the past, and they are driving bigger, more powerful bikes.
In 1990, motorcyclists 50 and older accounted for 10 percent of all bike owners. By 2003, the 50-and-older crowd represented 25 percent of motorcycle owners. During the same time, the average age of motorcycle owners rose from 33 to just over 40.
Michael Durbin has been in a good position to observe this gradual demographic shift. He owns Paradise Harley-Davidson in Tigard, Ore., where a large showroom is filled with gleaming models of the iconic American bike.
Durbin, who said sales have increased every year during the four years he has owned the dealership, said his typical customers range in age from 40 into their 60s. Some first-time buyers are fulfilling a lifelong dream.
"I've had people say, 'I wanted one all my life and I finally made my kid's last tuition payment,'" he said.
Most of the bikes in the showroom today are equipped with larger engines than earlier-generation models. Durbin said that during the past two years, Harley-Davidson increased the engine size on most of its models from 1,450 cubic centimeters to 1,584 cc.
And it is not just Harleys that have gotten burlier. According to data compiled by Motorcycle Industry Council, bikes with engines of at least 750 cc made up 40 percent of the U.S. market in 1990 but now account for more than three-quarters of the motorcycles on U.S. roads.
But Durbin and other veteran riders say they doubt that the size of the engines or the graying of the riders can fully explain the rising motorcycle death toll.
"It's the motorcyclist," said Steve Garets, a nationally recognized expert in motorcycle safety. "It is absolutely not the motorcycle."
"It's the boomers that are fueling this," Garets said of the growing popularity of motorcycling. "They're not new to driving a vehicle, but they are new to riding a motorcycle. People get into motorcycling and don't really understand the risks that go along with the rewards."
Troy Costales, administrator of the Traffic Safety Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation, notes that there are about three motorcycle fatalities in rural Oregon for every one in an urban setting. The No. 1 cause, he says, is excessive speed going into corners.
"First and foremost, it is riders killing themselves," Costales said.
Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have mandatory helmet laws for all motorcycle riders. Most other states require helmets for riders younger than 18 or 21. Three states — Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire — do not have helmet laws.
But even a tough helmet law doesn't necessarily add safety. According to federal government statistics, between 2001 and 2004 the fatality rate, measured by deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles, was lower in Iowa and New Hampshire than it was in Oregon, where helmets are mandatory.
Hinds, the newly minted easy rider, says he was well aware of the risks when he bought his 650-cc motorcycle. He took a three-day course on motorcycle safety and approached his first riding experiences with caution.
Now, he says, he is more comfortable cruising the back roads around his home at 50 or 60 mph.
"That's pure beauty," he said. "It's a real joy for me. It's still a minor extravagance, but it's well worth it. All of a sudden, I break out in a smile."
(Edward Walsh is a staff writer for The Oregonian of Portland, Ore. He can be contacted at edwardwalsh(at)news.oregonian.com.)
Not for commercial use. For educational and discussion purposes only.
Do Boomers hope they die before they grow old?
Boomer/Biker bump!
IBTDCR
Maybe they just want to live before they die.
A family friend was in her mid 50’s when she and her husband bought a pair of harleys, she went over the line on a curve and was struck by the oncoming traffic. Very tragic death and she was a great really nice person.
Where I work we’ve had two guys get into bike crashes.
One guy, about 50 years old got broadsided on his Harley by someone who didn’t see him. He says he’ll never get on another motorcycle, ever.
The other guy, 21 yo, left work and goosed his crotch-rocket to 100 mph just around the corner from here and someone pulled out in front of him. He is gone and he left behind a new wife and a 3 month old baby.
My last bike, an 850 Norton, was just waiting in the garage for a chance to kill me. I sold it to an Australian guy in Mpls who boxed it up and shipped it down under.
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Sad.
My wife and I sold our bikes when she found out she was pregnant.
We’ll buy them again when the kids are grown.
Side comment - could this be a solution to the Social Security problem?
Donor cycle? I don’t know....I have no doubt that the kid that passed me on I-40 when I was doing 85 miles per hour like I was sitting still if he crashed wouldn’t leave much to donate.
Wrong. The No. 1 cause is excessive drinking. Period. Alcohol is involved in over 50% of motorcycle accidents. I believe the actually % is higher than that of auto accidents (involving alcohol).
pathetic article.
The fact is REGARDLESS OF AGE, the highest accident rates for motorcyclists are those that have only been riding for six months and have NOT taken a safety course.
This is just NHTSA nanny fluff.
DNA sample
I’ve found that four wheel vehicles don’t tip over as often.
Yes!! I think your'e onto something there, Mr.B.
There are no simple explanations for why the motorcycle death toll has continued to increase, but in a 2006 analysis of the accident data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said two trends are evident: Today's motorcyclists are older than in the past, and they are driving bigger, more powerful bikes.
Allow me to add a third. The roads are meaner, more people are pressured and in a hurry, and busy talking on the phone. They do not even look for bikes.
And what is your trivial little life worth when their kid has to get to Soccer? Le't not lose sight of PRIORITIES here.
Bitter? You bet. One POS pulled out of a driveway right in front of my wife; She ONLY had three lights on the front of the bike- The bike was totalled, and she was in the hospital. Yes, we turned the attack lawyer loose.
A week later some fool did a left turn across my lane and tried to kill me. I settled with him on foot.
I contrast riding now to riding in the 60's-70's and claim the obvious: People just suck.
Well fortunately for him, shortly after he passed me, he encountered an Arkansas State Trooper.
I rode for two decades (’70s and ‘80s), and there is *no way* you’d get me on two wheels with the way folks drive nowadays.
Shoot, people use the “drunk bumps” to tell them where they’re supposed to be! Cell phones? Don’t get me started...
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