MILWAUKEE – As the motorcycle industry continues to report record sales, the industry and the government are looking to curb a rising number of injuries and deaths. They’re encouraging motorcyclists to ride sober, wear protective gear such as helmets, take training courses and get licensed.
But other factors complicate things. Riders are getting older, riding more miles on rural roads and drinking more. And the rising number of riders is also making it harder to get into training programs, industry experts and the government say.
Motorcycle sales were up 11 percent in the first six months of this year and interest continues because of high gas prices, the Motorcycle Industry Council said.
Motorcycles accounted for 2 percent of all registered vehicles in 2004 but made up 9.4 percent of all highway deaths, up from 5 percent in 1997, according to government statistics.
In 2004, 4,008 people died on motorcycles, up 8 percent from the previous year’s 3,714 deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At the same time, total traffic deaths dropped less than 1 percent to 42,636.
Preliminary numbers from last year show a 7.7 percent increase in motorcycle fatalities, the traffic agency reports.
“Every fatality is huge to us because in almost all cases they’re completely preventable,” said Tim Buche, president of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, an industry group. “If riders make good choices, they ride trained, they ride within their limits, we don’t have to have crashes.”
More than half of the time, other vehicles are involved in crashes and the majority of those are the other vehicle’s fault, Buche said.
This year’s Motorcycle Safety Plan by the NHTSA encourages riders to get training, whether they’re new or experienced.
Buche’s foundation operates hundreds of courses a year, with new ones targeting baby boomers who face problems with night vision and slower reaction time. The average biker’s age has jumped to 40.2 years old in 2003 from 28.5 in 1985, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation said.
But with all the new riders, it can be difficult to secure a spot. Many states report they’re able to help only 60 percent of people who want to take courses, he said.
The government recognizes the backlog in training programs, said Rae Tyson, spokesman for NHTSA. It recently announced a grant program that will provide up to $25 million over four years to states that offer training courses and meet other criteria.
“In a lot of the places the waiting list is lengthy and people get impatient,” said Tyson, himself a rider. “They buy a new motorcycle and they want to ride it. They don’t want to wait six months to go through a training program.”
Manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson, Honda and Suzuki provide new riders with incentives to take training courses such as offering rebates or savings bonds of between $50 and $75. The typical Motorcycle Safety Foundation training course costs around $150.
Harley also offers its own training courses called “Rider’s Edge,” which teach novices the basics, more experienced riders how to ride in groups and refresher courses for older riders.
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