Fatal Motorcycle

Are you playing the odds? A few weeks ago, I was wheeling up the street with Mrs. Trevitt when we heard a motorcycle coming up the driveway of a neighboring apartment complex. From the sound, I had figured it for a mid-seventies two-stroke. The bike that came into view was an early Yamaha RD350, rare enough, but I couldn't believe the rest of what I saw: On board were a man and a woman, neither wearing helmets. He was dressed in shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops. She, a bathing suit, no shoes. Up the street they roared on a half-flat rear tire, the RD smoking like it hadn't been ridden in a while. There was so much wrong with the picture that all I could do was sit there and stare. Why do people do this?

Every year, the NHTSA (National Highway traffic Safety Administration) releases accident data for cars and motorcycles, and summarizes the statistics in a document called Traffic Safety Facts. The data for 2008 has no real surprises, although one positive is that the number of motorcyclists injured in '08 was down from its peak in '07. It's the NHTSA's dry summary of motorcycle fatalities that is disheartening:

You can't eliminate the risks attached to riding a motorcycle, just as you can't eliminate the risks associated with driving a car, playing sports or crossing the street. But, as the statistics show, you can minimize them substantially. The discouraging problem is that no matter how well we ride, what gear we are wearing or how fast we go, there is always a chance of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Motorcyclists, facing a greater possibility of injury or worse in an accident, have to ride smart and reduce the chance part of the equation as much as possible. You've got more control over your destiny the more you think while riding, rather than just haphazardly jumping on your bike and twisting the throttle. And, as always, the more skills you've accumulated, the more prepared you are to avoid an accident.

In 2008, 41 percent of fatally injured motorcycle riders and 51 percent of fatally injured passengers were not wearing helmets at the time of the crash.

The statistics all ran through my head after Mister RD rode up the street, and it added up to a potentially nasty sum. A few minutes later, the couple roared back down the street, big grins on their faces. Waiting to enter the complex, the man saw us staring. His grin widened, and he waved. He was lucky, this time.

One-fourth of motorcycle riders (25%) involved in fatal crashes in 2008 were driving the vehicles with invalid licenses at the time of the collision.

The percentage of motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes in 2008 who had BAC levels of .08 g/dL or higher-29 percent-was higher than for any other type of motor vehicle driver.

The fact sheet goes on to say that in fatal crashes, 37 percent of motorcycle riders were speeding-a number considerably higher than that for car drivers. The good news is that all these factors listed are under our control: If you have your license, always wear a helmet, don't drink and ride, and don't speed, your chances of not being a statistic improve markedly.

The bad news is that not everything is in our control, and one of those factors-distracted drivers-is on the rise. A recent press release issued by the NHTSA indicates that "nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. On any given day in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone." Researchers have found that more and more people are using cell phones and other hand-held devices while they are driving. The worst offenders? People under 20 years old, the least experienced drivers. And this is even though more states are making cell-phone use illegal while driving. Here in California, using a hand-held cell phone is an infraction, and an additional law introduced at the beginning of '09 makes it illegal to read or write text messages while driving. From what I've seen lately on the road, however, it looks like more and more people are using the phone or texting in spite of these new laws.Enter text here.

The press release intimates that it will take a "cultural shift in how Americans view safe driving" for the distracted-driving numbers to change. In other words, hopefully it will eventually become frowned upon by your peers to be on the phone or texting while driving; much in the way drinking and driving has become socially unacceptable over the last couple of decades. The press release marked the opening of a two-day summit to study the problem and help put an end to it.