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Showing results for tags 'crashes'.
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mFkDJ0rpWA]100 Motorcycle Crashes - YouTube[/ame]
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you gotta love this one.
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without any bike related deaths? I know we lost a couple from illness, but I am not aware of any from bike crashes. I also know that 2007 was a really bad year with at least a couple of deaths with some really bad crashes. RandyA
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Kinda sad. These guys were really lucky. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxOgvu3qVs8]YouTube - Wrong-Way Driver Crashes Into 9 Motorcycles[/ame]
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(Addresses at bottom of article) Transportation Department Documents and Publications February 26, 2007 Title: Motorcycle Crash Causation Study and Pilot Motorcycle Crash Causes and Outcomes Study. DATES: Please submit comments by March 28, 2007. Background: In 2005, 4,553 motorcyclists were killed and 87,000 were injured in traffic crashes in the United States, increases of 13 percent, and 14 percent respectively from 2004. Per vehicle mile traveled in 2004, motorcyclists were about 34 times more likely to die, and 8 times more likely to be injured in a motor vehicle crash than were passenger car occupants. Per 100 million miles traveled, in 2004, motorcyclist fatalities were 77 percent higher than they were in 1994. This compares with a decrease of 22 percent in fatality rates for occupants in passenger vehicles over the same period. These data show that the motorcycle crash problem is becoming more severe. /1/ Congress has recognized this problem and directed the DOT to conduct research that will provide a better understanding of the causes of motorcycle crashes. Specifically, in Section 5511 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) Pub. L. 109-59, Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to the Oklahoma Transportation Center (OTC) for the purpose of conducting a comprehensive, in-depth motorcycle crash causation study that employs the common international methodology for in-depth motorcycle crash investigation developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). /2/ SAFETEA-LU authorized $1,408,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007, but provided for an equal match by the Grantee (Sections 5511 and 5101). The Secretary delegated authority to FHWA for the Motorcycle Crash Causation Grants under Section 5511 (71 FR 30831). FOOTNOTE 1 More detailed information on motorcycle crashes can be found in Traffic Safety Facts--Motorcycles, published by NHTSA and available on its Web site at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2005/MotorcyclesTSF05.pdf. END FOOTNOTE FOOTNOTE 2 The OECD methodology may be obtained by sending a request to jtrc.contact@oecd.org. END FOOTNOTE Coordination of FHWA Main Study and NHTSA Pilot Study Prior to the SAFETEA-LU directive by Congress to administer a full-scale study of motorcycle crash causes, NHTSA awarded a contract to conduct a pilot study of Motorcycle Crash Causes and Outcomes. The intent of this pilot study is to examine appropriate applications of the OECD methodology to motorcycle crashes in the United States. This pilot test is needed before any full-scale study could be conducted because the OECD methodology has not previously been implemented in the United States, and also because this methodology incorporates some options for collecting crash and control sample data that are affected by logistical and budget constraints. The authorization of funds by Congress for a full-scale motorcycle crash study provided an opportunity for the NHTSA pilot study to become closely coordinated with the FHWA full-scale study. As a result, the pilot study will test the procedures FHWA will consider using as it implements the OECD methodology. Additionally, it may be possible for the pilot study to transition directly into the main study, thereby allowing the main study to avoid many startup costs (e.g., site selection, training, coding manual development, data form development, etc.) that it otherwise would have incurred. This will allow the main study to capture a larger sample of crashes with the available funding. Recognizing these advantages, the DOT intends to submit a single request to OMB for approval of both of these studies. This notice is the first step in that combined approval request. Project Working Group Guidance A project working group consisting of representatives from the motorcycle industry and from the motorcycle community was formed to provide input into the study design. A working group meeting was held in Denver on June 15-16, 2006. At this meeting, consensus was reached that all the relevant OECD variables would be captured in both the NHTSA pilot and FHWA full-scale studies, that some of these variables would need to be modified to conform to U.S. requirements, and that other variables would need to be added to provide necessary data related to the U.S. roadway environment. Proposed Data Acquisition Methodology Use of Parallel and Complementary Procedures The OECD describes two complementary procedures to be performed for acquiring the data needed to understand the causes of motorcycle crashes. The first of these is the traditional in-depth crash investigation that focuses on the sequence of events leading up to the crash, and on the motorcycle, rider, and environmental characteristics that may have been relevant to the crash. The second procedure, known as the case-control procedure, complements the first. It requires the acquisition of matched control data to allow for a determination of the extent to which rider and driver characteristics, and pre-crash factors observed in the crash vehicles, are present in similarly-at-risk control vehicles. Such a dual approach offers specific advantages to the understanding of crashes and the development of countermeasures. The in-depth study of the crash by itself allows for analysis of the events antecedent to the crash, some of which, if removed or altered, could result in a change in subsequent events that would have led to a non-crash, or reduced crash severity outcome. For example, an in-depth crash investigation may reveal that an automobile approaching an intersection was in a lane designated for straight through traffic only, but the motorist proceeded to make a left turn from that lane into the path of an oncoming motorcycle. That finding can, by itself, be used to develop countermeasures, and does not require matched control data. However, acquiring matched control data from similarly-at-risk riders and drivers provides additional critical information about crash causes that cannot be obtained if only crashes are examined. The main purpose of acquiring matched data is to allow for inferences to be made regarding risk factors for crash causes. A brief explanation is provided here so that those less familiar with case-control procedures will understand the advantage of acquiring controls. /3/ Consider a hypothetical situation where it is observed that the proportion of motorcycle riders involved in crashes that have a positive Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is the same as the proportion of matched (similarly-at-risk) control motorcycle riders not involved in crashes. And assume that the proportion of passenger-vehicle motorists who crash with motorcycles at a positive BAC is greater than matched control passenger-vehicle motorists. These data considered together would suggest that for crashes involving passenger vehicles and motorcycles, alcohol is a bigger risk factor for passenger vehicle drivers than it is for motorcycle riders. That is, the relative risk of crash involvement attributable to alcohol in motorcycle-automobile crashes is greater for passenger-vehicle motorists than for motorcyclists. Other risk factors for crashes (i.e., age, gender, riding and driving experience, fatigue level) for both motorcyclists and motorists can also be examined in this manner. If scaled interval measurements of risk factor levels are obtained (for example, if the level of alcohol is measured, not just its presence or absence), then it becomes possible to calculate functions showing how risk changes with changes in the variable of interest. Such risk functions are highly useful in the development of countermeasures. /4/ FOOTNOTE 3 This being a study of crashes involving motorcycles, data will be acquired from both crash-involved motorcycles and also motor vehicles involved in those crashes as countermeasures may be developed separately for each that could lead to a reduction in crashes involving motorcycles. Similarly, when control data are acquired, data from similarly-at-risk motorcycle rider controls and similarly-at-risk automobile driver controls will also be acquired. This way a balanced picture of the causes of crashes involving motorcycles and other vehicles will emerge. END FOOTNOTE FOOTNOTE 4 Certainly other outcomes besides the one presented are possible, and other comparisons are of interest. For example it would be useful to compare crash-involved motorcyclists to non-crash involved motorcyclists and crash-involved passenger vehicle motorists to non-crash involved passenger-vehicle motorists. These comparisons would allow for estimates of changes in relative risks for riders and drivers independently. END FOOTNOTE ADDRESSES: You may send comments within 30 days to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention DOT Desk Officer. You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized, including the use of electronic technology, without reducing the quality of the collected information. All comments should include the Docket number FHWA-2007-26843. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions concerning the FHWA Motorcycle Crash Causation Study, please contact Carol Tan, Ph.D, Office of Safety Research and Development (HRDS), at (202) 493-3315, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, Federal Highway Administration, 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101, between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. For questions concerning the Pilot Motorcycle Crash Causes and Outcomes Study, please contact Paul J. Tremont, Ph.D, Office of Behavioral Safety Research, NTI-131, at (202) 366-5588, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
