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By The Washington Post
Published: April 23. 2010 4:00AM PST
After rising steadily for nearly a dozen years to set a record in 2008, the number of people killed nationally in motorcycle accidents dropped dramatically last year, according to a report issued Thursday.
The report by the Governors Highway Safety Association found that fatal crashes declined nearly 16 percent in the first nine months of 2009, compared with the same period the year before.
There was no ready explanation for the drop, a year after 5,290 fatalities set a record. The speculation included that the economy was keeping bikers off the road, that a 42 percent drop in new motorcycle sales last year resulted in fewer novice riders and that publicity about deaths had heightened drivers’ and riders’ awareness.
My response to this madness:
In the meantime death rates are climbing while motorcycle permits in the US are handed out like paper flyers to 16 year olds buying new 1000cc sportbikes and older men with slowed reflections, bad habits and no training. Getting a permit to operate an automobile is just about as easy. The answer for this is a bit of a no-brainer.
Can the MSF step up and offer newer more relevant advanced training? Yes. Are they working on any such new advanced rider programs? Yes.
Will any of these new programs by the MSF be required for citizens seeking to acquire a motorcycle endorsement for their license? No.
Will the annual death rate of motorcyclists therefore continue to rise along with rises in population and congestion until the federal government addresses the need of greater education for vehicular operation on state and federal roads? Yes!
We need help that’s the bottom line!
THURSDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) Deaths among motorcycle riders in the United States dropped by at least 10 percent in 2009, the first decrease in 12 years, according to a new report by the Governors Highway Safety Association.
Using data from 50 states and the District of Columbia, the report projected 4,762 motorcyclist deaths in 2009, compared with 5,290 deaths in 2008. Previously, there had been 11 straight years of dramatic increases in motorcycle rider fatalities, according to the report, released April 22.
Possible reasons for the lower death toll included less motorcycle travel because of a shaky economy, poor motorcycling weather in some areas of the country, fewer beginner riders and increased state attention to motorcycle safety programs. I don’t know what states are having success in motorcycle safety programs but it sure ain’t Georgia.
“Clearly the economy played a large role in motorcycle deaths declining in 2009,” the association’s chairman, Vernon Betkey, said in a news release from the group. “Less disposable income translates into fewer leisure riders, and we suspect that the trend of inexperienced baby boomers buying bikes may have subsided.”
Now with that being said, when the economy picks up and it will what will be the solution for the numbers increasing again? What’s in place to counteract the tragedies we faced the last 12 years? Not a damn thing!
Betkey also noted that many states have boosted enforcement to ensure that motorcyclists obey helmet laws and are properly licensed and insured. In addition, state and federal authorities have stepped up efforts to combat drunken riding.
Though last year’s decline is promising, the association says, it’s only one year, and much more work is required to achieve a steady decrease in motorcyclist deaths.
“We will need to see three to five years of decline before we are ready to say that a positive trend has developed,” Betkey said. You got that right Mr. Betkey but in the meantime what are some of the solutions to help the problems that we experienced in the past 12 years? What studies have been done or are going to be done over the next 3 to 5 years to help motorcyclists?
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