If you ride you have heard it multiple times. "Well my cousin's friend got hurt real bad back in '73 on a motorcycle" or "I knew a guy that died in a motorcycle wreck years ago". It also seems that every so often I hear from a non-rider: Did you hear about that guy that wrecked, died, etc, etc on a motorcycle this weekend? This really drives me crazy. Just tell me what happened and unless you were there, leave out the details.
I don't fly planes but every Monday I go to the airport and recite a plane crash story to a pilot so I will be accepted. Damn ain't I cool. Do you see my point?
To me it means I don't ride motorcycles for whatever lame ass reason so I'm telling you a story that makes me look cool. Wrong answer. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that there are people that will never ride a motorcycle. A friend of mine in Wilmington is in that category, but he is fearless about riding off road on four wheels, sometimes two, with over 300 horse power at his beck and call. Him I understand, me, I don't like airplanes or snakes.
Now there are those few people that genuinely care for you and I think they are reminding you to be careful, like my Mom and my Mother in Law.
Those of us that ride do share and update each other on all things that occur on two wheels in the community. That is expected and appreciated because we share a common interest.
On average there are 40,000 deaths due to car accidents every year and I'm not sure if motorcycles are included in that number. Since 1974 when I started to drive I personally knew five of these unfortunate car driving souls.About 40% of car accident fatalities occur because of a drunken driver. About 30% of the car accident fatalities can be attributed to driving above the speed limits and 33% and above because of reckless driving that causes the car to go off the road and result in an accident.
The majority of car accident victims are the drivers, then the passengers of the car, followed by pedestrians, and lastly cyclists.
Every 12 minutes, one person dies because of a car accident. Every 14 seconds, a car accident results in an injured victim.
- —1997--2,116
- —1998--2,294
- —1999--2,483
- —2000--2,897
- —2001--3,197
- —2002--3,244
- —2003--3,661
- —2004--4,008
- —2005--4,553
- In 2005, 4,553 people died in motorcycle crashes, up 13.0 percent from 4,028 in 2004. The 13 percent increase was the largest since 1977.
- Motorcycle crash fatalities have increased for eight years in a row.
- There were 5.8 million motorcycles on U.S. roads in 2004, according to latest data available, compared with 133.3 million passenger cars. Motorcycles accounted for 2.4 percent of all registered motor vehicles and 0.3 percent of vehicle miles traveled in 2004.
- Some 88,000 motorcycles were involved in crashes in 2004.
- Motorcyclists were 34 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash in 2005, per vehicle mile traveled, and 8 times more likely to be injured.
- The fatality rate for motorcyclists was 4.8 times the fatality rate for passenger car occupants per registered vehicle in 2004.
The bottom line is that riders know and accept the risk. At least the intelligent ones do. Some of us act nonchalant but know that the respect is there. I know riding a motorcycle is dangerous but apparently I am safer in a plane than a car. Since I don't like planes I'll go directly to dangerous.
