2Wheeltips

Rider Education Article
by Gene Knutson
International Director, Rider Education

Deadly Motorcycle Accident Statistics
Take a look at the statistics below if you think riding without a motorcycle helmet is a good way to save money.
With the number of U.S. motorcyclist deaths jumping 78% to 5,154 in 2007 from 2,897 in 2000, a recent University of Southern California study points to the wearing of a helmet as the major factor in surviving a motorcycle crash.

Below are additional statistics that explain why motorcycle insurance premiums continue to rise.

Motorcycle Fatality Statistics:
Although motorcycles represent only 3% of all registered vehicles in the United States, motorcyclists accounted for 13% of total traffic fatalities in 2007.  Per registered vehicle, the fatality rate for both motorcycle operators and passengers is 5.5 times higher than that for passenger car occupants.  Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists are about 35 times more likely to die in a car crash than people traveling in passenger cars.
These findings are among the most recent statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Deadly Motorcycle Crash Statistics:
During 2007, 50% of all fatal motorcycle crashes involved collisions with another type of motor vehicle in transport. Of these two-vehicle crashes, 78% of motorcycles involved were struck from the front. Only 5% were struck from the rear.  In 25% of fatal motorcycle crashes, the motorcyclists crashed into a fixed object like a telephone pole or a concrete abutment.   Speeding was a factor in 36% of fatal motorcycle crashes during 2007.  This compares with 24% for passenger cars, 19% for light trucks and 8% for large trucks.  Florida (530), California (495) and Texas (375) had the highest number of motorcycle fatalities in 2007.

Fewer Motorcyclists Wear Helmets:
The NHTSA estimates that helmets saved 1,784 motorcyclists from death in 2007. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 800 lives could have been saved.  Helmets are considered to be 37% effective in preventing fatal injuries to motorcyclists. This means for every 100 motorcyclists killed in crashes while not wearing a helmet, 37 of them could have been saved had all 100 worn helmets.
Sadly, use of motorcycle helmets in the U.S. has declined by 13 percentage points to 58% in 2007 from 71% in 2000.
Remember, in an accident your head is usually one of the first parts of your body to feel the impact.  Why chance it, wear a helmet and continue to see the sunrise tomorrow.

I was reading my local news online a couple of days ago, when a headline grabbed my attention:

"1 Dead After Crash on Route 18 in East Brunswick"
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100712/NEWS/100712019/1004/NEWS0102

Somehow, without the headline saying it, I knew a motorcycle was involved.  Sadly, I was correct.  Sadder yet, the motorcyclist died in the accident; the passenger on the bike was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition at the time.  Apparently, the 19 year old driver of the automobile that was involved was not injured.

I know nothing about this accident (other than what little was written up in the local paper) and I know none of the people involved.  But motorcycle accidents send chills down my spine whenever they occur, and especially when they occur on local roads that I travel all the time.  Perhaps many of you will agree with me when I say that it seems like we are often a bit too interested in the gory details of motor vehicle accidents.  Yet, hopefully, we can learn something from even the most tragic of accidents.  I looked at the photos that were taken of the accident (and there was controversy about the newspaper even posting some of them, especially the ones that show what appears to be covering over the body of the biker) in an attempt to understand better what had happened and I am baffled.  Was the biker making a right turn onto Route 18 from the side street?  Did the vehicles collide while merging into the same lane?  Was someone driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs?  Was one of the operators distracted?  I don't have an answer.  What I do know is that, regardless of the roads that we ride on, the moment we let down our guard is the moment that we will be in big trouble.  Defensive motorcycling is necessary on all roads at all times....because our lives depend upon it.

Take a look at the photos after this accident to see if you can learn anything from them:



















And, for those of you who might live in my area, and who just might have been witness to what happened on Sunday evening, this is what I found on the road today:

A couple of days ago, I read about an accident in my area where a couple riding a bike was hit by another biker who was drunk http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37815299/ns/local_news-delaware_valley_panj/.  The drunken rider went to pass the couple and, as he tried to pass, he hit their rear wheel.  The rider on the bike that was hit is now in critical condition in the hospital.  The passenger on that bike was thrown from the bike and was run over and killed by a car (the driver of the car left the scene and had not been located at the time of the news story).    The drunken motorcyclist who caused the catastrophe "sustained several cuts and bruises and was treated at the hospital before being taken into custody." 

So what is the reality here?  One biker dead, one biker in critical condition fighting for his life, and the biker who caused it all survives with minor bruises and a certain jail sentence and who knows how many lawsuits to plague him for the rest of his life.  All because he was stupid enough to ride drunk.

In Part 1 of the Motorcycle Accidents guide (must be read with a dose of sarcasm for full effect :-p ) we’ve examined things we can do to make sure we get into an accident. In this article, I will share a few pointers regarding the best way to “act” during an accident as related to me by a few motorcycle experts. So, without further ado, let’s crash.

Disclaimer:
While this article contains – in the opinion of the author – valid and useful information, it’s meant for entertainment purposes only.
In other words, be responsible for your own actions and don’t try this at home. Moreover; if you do try it at home, don’t blame anyone but yourself if you break your ass.

On with the show.

We will divide motorcycle accidents into three different types. You can suggest additional types in the comments section if you can think of any.

Type 1: Didn’t cause it; couldn’t prevent it.
The kind of accident where there was nothing you could do to prevent it and there was nothing you did to cause it. You are sitting at an intersection and a drunk driver rams you from behind. A total freak

What does it take to get into an accident while riding?

Part 1 will explore conditions that result in a rubber-side-up effect.
A facetious list of do’s to make sure we have a really bad time while riding

Part 2 will take on a more serious look at accident-survival and reflect on the best ways to have an accident.

So, what do you have to do around here to get into an accident?

1.    Make sure you ride intoxicated.
2.    Make sure your attention is elsewhere. This happens when you ride irritated, pissed off, upset over god knows what, etc.
3.    Make sure your focus is on the guy who cut you off. For every guy that cuts you off there are 10 more waiting to plow right into you. Instead, consider it a great opportunity to practice control over your emotions and maintain an indifferent state of mind.
4.    Make sure you ride stiff on the bike. Squeeze the handlebars as tightly as possible and make sure your forearms fatigue quickly and are useless for when you need them the most.
5.    Make sure you ride in people’s blind spots. Also, assume everyone can see you.
6.    Make sure you ride beyond your capabilities.
7.    Make sure you ride beyond your bike’s capabilities.
8.    Make sure you never inspect your bike. (T-CLOCS anyone?)
9.    Relax, what can happen 2 miles away from your house while picking up a loaf of bread? Turns out, everything. Most accidents happen on short rides, 5 minutes away from the rider’s house.
10.    Make sure you do not adjust for changing riding conditions. This could be anything; here are some examples: Time of day (daytime into nighttime), change in weather patterns (sunny to rain), traffic congestion (mid-day into rush hour), surface conditions (asphalt to gravel, dry to slippery, etc.) and so on.

I think we have all done at least one of these at one point or another. Is your bad habit on the list? Do share, you are amongst friends.

Next up, we will discuss the best ways of going into an accident.
I was fortunate enough to hear a few experts on this topic discuss it at some length. The panel was comprised of motorcycle racers and Hollywood stunt-men; amongst others.
I think they shared some invaluable information that I hope none of us ever need to use.

One beautiful Sunday morning, I was riding with 2 other bikers.  I was the most inexperienced of the three and I rode in the middle, between my 2 friends.  We were riding a route to one of our favorite places and, as we had done many times in the past, we were on small roads that ran through quiet towns.  Sunday mornings, along this route, there is little traffic and, having dealt with traffic on major highways, I felt completely comfortable riding…perhaps a bit too comfortable.  As a novice rider, I let down my guard and took for granted that any motorists on the road with me that day would not be a threat.  Wrong!  As we passed a small business on the right, a car pulled up to the left of us (this was a two lane road, one lane in each direction…I should have known right away that something was not right).  In what seemed like a split second, the motorist made a right turn into a driveway and cut off all three of us.  My friend who was in the front of the group, a much more experienced biker than I, was able to stop on a dime.  My friend who was behind me was so far behind me that he had no problem coming to an easy stop.  I, however, hit the brakes a bit too hard and locked them up.  I never hit the car that cut me off but I did go down.  Although the windshield I had just installed on my bike cracked into multiple pieces, thanks to the fact that I was wearing full riding gear and a full face helmet, I remained in one piece and was able to get right up and walk away from the accident.  My full face helmet absorbed the impact as my head hit the ground, my padded jacket absorbed the impact as my shoulder hit the ground, and my padded riding pants absorbed the impact as my knee hit the ground.  My friends helped me get my bike upright and they tested it to make sure it was rideable.  The main damage to the bike, other than the cracked windshield, was a bent front brake lever but it wasn't bent so badly that I couldn't use it to continue riding for the day.  As I got myself up off the ground, and shook the dirt off of my riding pants and jacket, a woman came up to me to ask if I was okay.  A good samaritan, I thought….I told her I was fine and just asked if she would put my broken windshield in her trashcan, which she did.  My friends and I mounted our bikes and took off for our favorite place for breakfast, Lulu's in New Hope, PA.  We sat over breakfast talking about the idiot driver who had cut us off and, although I was sore, I had no serious injuries, just a busted ego…I was ashamed that I had not been skilled enough to stop very quickly without locking my brakes.  It was at that point that my two friends told me that the good samaritan who had asked if I was okay was actually the woman who caused the accident!  I was upset that my friends had not told me at the time that the woman offering her help was actually the one who caused the whole incident and, at the same time, I was grateful to my friends for not telling me.  I don't know what I would have said or done to her had I known, and it was just as well that I got myself straightened out and back on the road. 
Here are some of the lessons I learned that morning:
1.  Learning to stop quickly on a bike, without locking the brakes, is a skill that all bikers must master.  It is a learned skill and needs to be practiced constantly.
2.  There is no substitute for good riding gear.  Good pants and a riding jacket not only can provide padded protection but they also act as a second skin.  A full face helmet is the only type of helmet I will ever wear, even if I am only riding as a passenger on someone else's bike…the full face helmet I wore that morning prevented me from having any type of serious head or brain injury and, yes, my head hit the ground pretty hard.  The helmet took the full impact of the hit and my head felt nothing. 
3.  Once back on my bike, I did wear the helmet that I had gone down with since it was the only one I had.  However, once home, that life-saving helmet went right in the trash can and I went to the store to buy a brand new full-face helmet.
4.  Sometimes, it is better to just move on and not confront the people who caused an accident (if there was no collision between their vehicle and yours).  I was lucky enough to get up and ride away from that accident and nothing I would have said or done to that woman would have made her an instantly better driver.  She was careless once and, most likely, she will be careless again, and I am not the person who can help or change her bad driving habits.
5.  I must always prepare myself for conditions on the road that can become potentially dangerous.  I never thought that the woman who almost hit me was going to make a right turn in front of all of us….she had created an illegal lane and did not have a turn signal on….I should have been prepared for her to do anything since she was already driving carelessly.
6.  Riding with friends can truly be invaluable.  Things can go wrong when you are riding and, having riding partners with you can make the difference between being able to get back on your bike and continue your ride or being left (even temporarily) stranded.