Proficient Motorcycling. David L. Hough

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      Source: National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA, FARS

      According to the NCSA numbers, motorcycles 500cc and under have dropped from 17 percent of fatalities in 1990 to 6 percent in 1999. In that same time frame, machines of 1,001 to 1,500cc had increased from 22 percent of fatalities in 1990 to 33 percent in 1999. In other words, larger motorcycles seemed to be involved in the fatality increases. The researchers at first thought they had discovered the smoking gun that would explain the increases in fatalities. But it turns out that it’s just a matter of the demographics. When you factor in the sizes of motorcycles being purchased today, it becomes more obvious that the trend toward bigger displacement bikes being involved in fatal crashes is simply a mirror of motorcyclists’ buying preferences.

      What’s more, engine displacement isn’t a good measure of motorcycle performance. There are more than a few 600cc sportbikes around with quarter-mile speeds of over 120 mph. At the same time, we have some heavyweight cruisers in the 1,500cc class with top speeds of less than 100 mph.

      It might make sense to limit novice riders to less powerful machines. In some countries, novice riders are limited to smaller motorcycles, typically 250cc, during their probationary learning phase. Then, after a year or two, if the new rider can show proficiency, he or she can apply for a license to operate a larger bike. That concept would be hard to implement in the United States, where an individual has been free to purchase whatever machine strikes his or her fancy, with no proof of skill level. For tiered licensing to work in the United States, states would need to stiffen up the licensing process, and that would be a very tough sell in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

       The Road Rider Survey

      Let’s note that the Hurt Report was conducted in the Los Angeles area, so a large percentage of the crashes were in urban (city) riding. Doing a study in California made sense, since around one-third of motorcyclists in the United States live there. But lots of us live in the country or do much of our serious riding on roads far from the city. Years ago, as a contributor to Road Rider magazine, I wondered how the numbers would compare between California and elsewhere around the country. I got the brilliant idea to do a survey of the types of crashes and incidents Road Rider subscribers had actually experienced. Of course, the Road Rider survey wasn’t nearly as sophisticated as the Hurt Report, but the responses were spread over the entire United States, and it involved about the same number of cases. Among crashes reported to the authorities, readers indicated approximately twice as many single-vehicle crashes, most notably due to surface hazards and wild animals. Where the Hurt Report showed 26 percent of all crashes were single vehicle, the Road Rider survey indicated 45 percent were single vehicle. That would make sense, since many of those crashes were out in the country, away from a major city.

      It’s interesting that the latest NHTSA numbers show that single-vehicle crashes are hovering around 45 percent of fatal crashes, with multiple-vehicle crashes at around 55 percent—exactly what the Road Rider survey indicated.

      The Road Rider accident survey brought something else to my attention. We asked for both reported and unreported incidents. Apparently, a lot of motorcycle crashes don’t get reported. Let’s say you slide out on loose gravel and smash your bike into the ditch. If no one calls the police and you are still mobile enough to ride, would you call the authorities and demand to fill out an accident report? Personally, I wouldn’t want to initiate any reports that might come to the attention of my insurance company. I suspect that lots of crashed bikes get hauled home in a trailer as clandestinely as possible. When we included both reported and unreported accidents from the Road Rider survey, the numbers came out quite differently from the Hurt Report. Single-vehicle accidents accounted for 86 percent of the total.

      Note that the Road Rider survey showed a much higher percentage of single-vehicle crashes caused by surface hazards, animal strikes, and cornering errors than the Hurt Report indicated. That would make sense because outside of cities we would expect a higher percentage of those types of crashes. While the Road Rider survey wasn’t one of those huge, government-funded, university research projects, I think it hints that motorcyclists nationwide face a somewhat different mix of hazards than the Hurt Report showed. Let’s also note that these days the NHTSA focuses more on fatal crashes, although a rider can be seriously injured in a crash that isn’t fatal. That’s why in Proficient Motorcycling I get a lot deeper into hazards such as edge traps and wild animals than the typical rider training courses include.

       Quiz Time

      Now that we’ve rambled through a few of the statistics, put on your thickest skin and tally up your personal score. The numbers are weighted in an approximate relationship to the statistics.

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QUIZ	ADD POINTS	SUBTRACT POINTS
1. Motorcycle license	10
2. Commercial driving license	5
3. Learner’s permit, no license	2
4. License revoked		10
5. No motorcycle license		10
6. Less than 6 mos. experience		2
7. 25 to 36 mos. experience	5
8. More than 48 mos. experience	8