Age and accident correlations?

[Iowa Guy]

Last night while my black lab was taking my wife & I for a walk, a former boss and current friend of my wife's stopped to give us uninvited advise that anyone over 50 should not be riding a motorcycle. I didn't respond to him cause really, whats the point. I would like to show my wife some of the stats that I have seen here in months past on accidents/fatalities broken down by age &/or experience. I could see that he'd bothered her with his comments. Anybody have that stuff book marked?

 

Tim Lantz

Iowa Guy

[Condor]

Last night while my black lab was taking my wife & I for a walk, a former boss and current friend of my wife's stopped to give us uninvited advise that anyone over 50 should not be riding a motorcycle. I didn't respond to him cause really, whats the point. I would like to show my wife some of the stats that I have seen here in months past on accidents/fatalities broken down by age &/or experience. I could see that he'd bothered her with his comments. Anybody have that stuff book marked?

 

Tim Lantz

Iowa Guy

 

Tim. I think it should be the other way around, and the age to get an indorsement to ride a scoot should be raised, not older riders taken off their bikes....but that's just my opinion, and i seem to be full of them this morning..... A good indicator of how safe younger riders are compared to older experienced riders is the premium charged by company's when they insure a 'testosterone' rider, and the bike he's riding. Those companies have loss actuarials that tell them the risk factor is greater and an acident is almost imanent. Too bad they are not published for everyone to see. The premiums are so high on younger riders that most of them go into sticker shock when they apply. The cheap insurance rates are had by older wiser experienced riders....over 50.... riding 'comfort' bikes....

[Thom]

i agree with condor , if us old f*rts are such bad riders than why is the insurance so cheep ? i know when i was young i could not go a mo. with out running into , falling off or being hit by someone , i have not done a wheelly , a burnout or broke my neck looking at pretty girl [ i am so old now i have to stop to look now ] in many years . ask your wife who she wants to ride with you or some younster , i just ask my wife what she thought , she said think about it , she falls a sleep all the time riding on back so she must feel safe or she'll let me know , ouch.

if you need more facks both of you should take a m/c safety class . my wife did , she enjoyed it and she passed

thom

[utadventure]

The following is some info from May of this year as provided by the US Air Force I read on another website. While the average age is actually higher than I thought it would be, another factor that needs to considered - the type of bike ridden. If you were to factor in tourers vs. bullet bikes, I think you would see a difference in these statistics.

 

Just thinking of this group and those that I ride with locally, our average age would be 50+ and we are significantly beating the statistics. In our local group, there have been no serious accidents or deaths and the VR group has been quite safe as well. Just my 2 cents worth!!

____________________________

 

Yesterday morning we received notification of another USAF motorcyclist fatality. We asked the Traffic Safety folks to run some numbers and here is what we discovered…

 

Good news: While national motorcycle statistics grow much worse (see below)—we are not following that trend.

 

Bad news: Seven warrior Airmen have lost their lives in motorcycle mishaps this fiscal year. This compares to seven at this same time last year. While some of this year’s fatal motorcycle mishaps are still under investigation, one fact is readily apparent:

 

Of the seven mishaps, six were single vehicle mishaps. The only mishap involving another vehicle was a result of loss of motorcycle control, and veering into oncoming traffic. Preliminary analysis tells us that all seven did not maintain control over their own motorcycle. None were caused by a four wheel operator failing to see or account for a motorcyclist.

 

We found some very interesting nationwide motorcycle safety stats/information via the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) which pertains to the general U.S. populace:

 

Deaths of cyclists have skyrocketed during the past decade while deaths have decreased among passenger vehicle operators.

 

Motorcyclist deaths have more than doubled since 1997, and in 2005 accounted for 10 percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths, up from 5 percent in 1997.

 

In 2005, a total of 4,439 motorcyclists died in crashes, up 14 percent from the 3,904 in 2004

 

The typical motorcycle rider is 41 years old, according to the latest survey of owners conducted by the Motorcycle Industry Council, a nonprofit trade group based in Irvine, CA.

 

The number of deaths on motorcycles was about 34 times the number in cars per mile traveled in 2005.

 

71% of motorcyclist deaths in 2005 occurred during the six months of May – October. Fatalities peaked during July – September and were lowest during December – February.

 

59% of motorcyclist deaths in 2005 occurred during Friday – Sunday.

 

A National Highway Transportation Study on Motorcycle Safety indicated emphasis on the following areas can reduce motorcycle fatalities:

 

Failure of motorcyclists to appreciate the inherent operating characteristics of their motorcycles

Failure of motorcyclists to know the limitations of their motorcycles

Failure of motorcyclists to follow speed limits

 

A close study of the IIHS data reflects problems in the general populace that fortunately, we do not typically see in the Air Force. That is, failure to wear helmets, unlicensed riders, and a large number of individuals riding under the influence being fatally injured. Motorcycle Safety Foundation courses teach both basic and experienced riders the necessary skills to safely operate a motorcycle. However, we are seeing our motorcyclists exceeding their riding skill levels and dying. Today’s popular high performance motorcycles (some capable of reaching speeds in excess of 140 mph in a standing start quarter mile) can reach illegal/inappropriate speeds in a matter of seconds. This performance is often what leads our folks to get into situations that they cannot get out of.

 

Another area of concern is the growing number of older motorcyclists. The Army is seeing a markedly upward trend in older rider mishaps. So far, we do not see this, but we should stay aware of the national and Army trends, as exposure is rising. Often times our safety briefings focus on the younger troops. In regards to motorcycling, we need to ensure we identify all of our motorcyclists, and ensure our briefings and mentor-ship includes everyone. Age does not necessarily always equate to experience. The average age of our motorcyclists involved in fatal mishaps this fiscal year was 28.7 years old.

 

The 101 Critical Days of Summer are nearing. Summer vacation/leave, favorable weather, and growth of our motorcycle riding population are all factors that can increase our risk of motorcycle crashes.

 

What can we do to reduce the possibility of motorcycle mishaps?

 

Strongly emphasize personal responsibility and risk management. Many of our Airmen who were fatally injured were licensed, trained, and wearing proper personal protective equipment when they lost control of the motorcycle. Motorcyclists need to exercise restraint while riding on public roadways. This restraint comes from within, although proper mentor-ship and leadership emphasis can help

Continue with our aggressive motorcycle safety training

Enlist the help of squadron commanders in identifying and monitoring unit motorcyclists

Increase motorcycle safety mentor-ship for both inexperienced and experienced riders (regardless of age/rank)

Continue to emphasize education beyond the required MSF training (experienced courses, refresher training, sharing “There I was” articles…)

 

Seven lives have been lost to motorcycle mishap thus far this fiscal year. This is seven too many. Our Airman Creed states, “I will never leave an Airman behind, I will not falter, and I will not fail.” Let’s make sure we are doing what we can so none of our motorcyclist Airmen are left behind.

[BOO]

Very interesting!

Jerry

[hipshot]

CATCH 22!!!!!!!

how do you get to be a 50+ year old "safe ,EXPERIENCED", driver ,without first being a very fortunate "young and reckless " driver?

just jt

[GeorgeS]

Been rideing Motorcycle Less then 6 months.

 

Been Drinking !!!!!! ( stoped at biker bar )

 

 

I pay the same for insurance on my 99, GSX 1300-R, as on my

89. Venture.

------ Thats got to tell you something -----

[Condor]

CATCH 22!!!!!!!

how do you get to be a 50+ year old "safe ,EXPERIENCED", driver ,without first being a very fortunate "young and reckless " driver?

just jt

 

I think you answered your own question JT... VERY FORTUNATE... A few of us pro'bly wouldn't be here if they'd made 140hp 'sport bikes' 50 years ago.

[KiteSquid]

If I am not susposed to ride after I turn 50, I had better ride as often as I can NOW!!!!!

 

I only have 7 years left:rotf::rotf::rotf:

[Iowa Guy]

Thanks to all for the comments and insights from riders AND their passengers. I will ask my wife to take a look.

 

Iowa Guy

 

[hig4s]

If you look at the accident and fatality stats, the second highest group it the 40 to 60 age group. But it is not just about age, it is experience. When they separate the those in that group that have years of experience (100,000 miles pluse) from those that decided to get their first bike then (which is a very large #) they find that the experienced rider between 40 and 60 is the safest. and the inexperienced rider between 40 and 60 is just as bad as the 20 to 25 group.

[Lone Eagle]

Tim, interesting post. If it was me, I might ask my "friend" to be careful of his comments - and get all his facts right - but that is me. I found the Air Force post interesting.

Yesterday, couple of us went up to the Street Vibrations Rally in Reno. Often, I might characterize Harley riders to be "dumb and foolish". What I found interesting during our 4 hour trip to Reno was the "older" riders were obeying the speed limit, utilizing good judgement / hand signals, etc. The younger riders were blowing by everyone for whatever reason (I only said Harley because 95% of the bikes going to this event that we saw on the freeway were Harleys). I might also think that more people are getting bikes now - gas prices, whatever - and there are a lot more inexperienced riders on the road - or like in my case, I've always had bikes but took a 10 year break from riding before I got back on a bike last year. In doing so last year, I might have initially bought a bike too large for me - so knowing one's limitations also needs to be considered. My wife started riding with me last year - specifically with this group - and loves it. And I think it is because "we" are all "older and wiser". Just my two cents.

[Iowa Guy]

If you look at the accident and fatality stats, the second highest group it the 40 to 60 age group. But it is not just about age, it is experience. When they separate the those in that group that have years of experience (100,000 miles pluse) from those that decided to get their first bike then (which is a very large #) they find that the experienced rider between 40 and 60 is the safest. and the inexperienced rider between 40 and 60 is just as bad as the 20 to 25 group.

 

Great.... I think that I've changed my mind about showing this to wife. I may be in the 2nd group. Indeed, when I got the bike at age 50, and even took the safety training before getting licensed, I discovered there is a learning curve. During the first 6 months of riding the bike and I hit the ground 3 times. Two of the times, was because of ignorance of how to brake correctly, and once was because I got on the throttle to aggressive and spun out. Nothing in the last two summers so maybe I'm progressing. I've certainly learned more respect for the dangers involved. I confess, after the last ground bounce and picking up plastic faring parts I had serious thoughts of getting rid of it. I had lotsa helpful advice from the experienced riders from Ventureriders in helping me understand what I was doing wrong and make the necessary changes in my riding and safety changes to the bike. If not for them, I would not still have a bike now.

 

Okay, I have talked myself around to showing her this again. She is smart so she will be able to think this through herself (was that too obvious?).

 

Iowa Guy