Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comAs the number of baby boomers taking to the road on motorbikes has risen, so has the average age of motorcyclists involved in crashes, a U.S. study says.
You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
American men finally closing the longevity gender gapLate starters can live longer if they get movingMom with flesh-eating disease had seven operationsU.S. HIV aid has prevented 741,000 deaths: studyLung cancer scans suggested for older heavy smokersNew York judge with cancer makes case for marijuanaKicking up the spice may help your heartPot groups hope Ore. race sends feds a messageParents buying off kids for good behaviorGeorgia woman with flesh-eating disease in "critical" condition
Leave a Comment:
If you can't confuse them with facts, dazzle them with BS!
What are the actual numbers? Don't throw percentages around because there are more new riders every year.
Exactly. The baby boomers are roughly 25% of the population. They've inflated figures since they first stressed maternity wards, then kindergartens, then elementary schools, then high schools, and then the job market in the early eighties. Now they'll naturally inflate the number of people on social security, medicare, and motorcycles - as well as in automobile accidents.
Does this phenomenon apply equally to cars? I'd bet it does.
And that is why I run straight pipes on my Sporty. They may not see me, but they sure the heck should be able to hear me.
Happened to me, a driver changed lanes quickly, with no signal, and no turn of the head to verify an empty lane. I had my back broken, while the PoS who ran me off the road ran, never to be found.
I'm back on, but double-cautious now. There are too many distracted drivers with incredibly poor habits out there. Have to drive like everyone else is trying to kill you.
Meanwhile the police ignore unsafe lane changes/distracted driving so they can bust people for speeding, which is far less often the cause of an accident.
Sometimes you ride bike & sometime the bike rides you!
What is greater, the number of older riders and the mileage they ride when they are out there riding or the younger riders? Not enough information to be valid. Doesn't it seem possible if there are more older riders, riding more miles when riding, then there will be more of the older riders having accidents? Why do they make it sound as if it is strange that an older rider will take longer to recover from injuries than a young rider? Rocket Science!
I agree. It just another slanted interpretation of raw data that says pretty much nothing we didn't already know. I think it's a good assumption that older riders on cruisers log more miles than younger riders on sport bikes. And of course we take longer to heal. That's pretty obvious. I'm not sure I understand the intended message of this article.
So older people heal slower than younger people? How how much time and money was wasted on that study?
I agree. The article does not mention how long these older bikers have been riding. I know that anybody is at risk the first couple of months riding. Even experienced riders with a new motorcycle have a higher risk than they would have with a bike they have been riding for a while. And yeah, older people heal slower.
Yes, poorly done survey. Older riders are like older drivers, we ride at greater distances, are more cautious etc. Just forget that all this happens when there is an overall over 40 numbers increase thus increasing their accident rate. And if it took a survey to discover older people heal more slowly or have more medical complications going in, we need some serious help.
and at 49 I commute 30 miles a day with my bike providing good weather. I just spend more time on the road.
aGE 62, Ride every day weather is good. reason gas cost too much and the bike gets better mileage, and is more fun. Amazing that the survey discovered what we all know - it takes longer to heal when we get older. Thanks for stating the obvious. I think the report is so the government can force the older rider off the bike and into a highcost auto with Obamacare.
The reason there are so many more fatalities among older bikers is that these people haven't ridden a motorcycle all their lives. It does have to do with reflexes but not in the aging sense. It is more to do with the fact that they are not prepared for every contingency which is what it takes to be a good biker. They hit 50 and decide they need a motorcycle. My husband is 64 years old and has ridden a motorcycle since he was 13 years old. He can outride any 20 something any day of the week. But he also doesn't take chances and he always watches for the other guy because he knows they sure aren't watching for him. It takes time to learn to ride a motorcycle properly and deciding when you are 50 to become a bike rider makes as much sense as a 65 year old who has driven a compact or mid size car all his life deciding he should own a 65 foot motor home and pull a car behind. Have you seen how those people drive?!! They terrify me a lot more than the bike riders. They are driving a lethal weapon the size of an 18 wheeler and shouldn't even be behind the wheel of a CAR!!
Excuse me, but what I'm a lot more concerned with is so obvious, the women drivers that drive these extra large SUV's. Personally, I believe the largest car all women should be allowed to drive is a Smart car, PERIOD! That way, if they cause an accident, which the chance of that happening is probably 95% of the time or better, and they hit you, they can't really cause that much damage with a car the size of a smart car. Giving a women driver a Large SUV like a Suburban or Navigator is Crazy. I equate this with something just as obvious. Would you as a parent give your 3 year old an Uzi or AK-47 to play with??? Same thing when you give a woman a large SUV, they are so busy talking on the cellphone, at the same time they're putting on Make-up, drinking a Starbucks coffee, smoking a cigarette and with the other hand, checking their Blackberry while driving the large SUV with their knees.....The guy on a bike doesn't stand a chance!!!
It takes greater licensing & permits to operate a Hot Dog Cart than it does to operate a vehicle on the road.
With local DMV's across the country regularly in the news for taking bribes & kickbacks or just plain negligence in their jobs is it any wonder the roads aren't safe FOR ANYONE.
From bus operators who aren't qualified to operate a calculator to MORONS on phones it doesn't take a GENIUS to see the roads aren't a place to take lightly. You're safety is YOUR OWN.
Hey, I'm 56 and I've been riding since I was 15. When you ride, you almost have to be paranoid. You have to expect everyone to be on the phone or doing something other than paying attention and ride appropriately. That has saved me several times. All operators of motor vehicles should be given an IQ test and, if they score high enough, then they can try for their drivers licenses. Also, older drivers are more dangerous for motorcycle riders.
EGlide, you're right on the money. Just like WWII fighter pilots that survived air combat, you have to keep your head on a swivel and always expect the unexpected. I'm 60 and still riding since 15 and never had an accident, but many close calls. Especially with young teens inattention and senior car drivers.
the ones that scare me are the teenagers talking or texting while TRYING to drive.
or thewomen putting on their warpaint and drinking coffee and TRYING to drive.
or the ones reading the newspaper or a map and TRYING to drive.
AND NONE OF THEM can fart and wave at the same time without getting confused.
It is entirely possible that older riders have a greater chance of injury simply because they RIDE MORE than younger riders. Statistics will show that the number of motorcycle accidents is directly proportional to the number of miles ridden, which means riders who have more time to ride -- older riders -- may simply be putting more miles on their bikes. It does NOT mean older riders are more accident prone. Good riders well up into their 80's seem to be much safer than much younger riders, which is evident by the number of older riders still around. Of course, the senstaionalist media can make it sound like anything they want it to by reporting parts of the facts and adding their own twists to the mix to make it sound like older riders are unsafe. Ride on, folks. Just ride safe and watch out for automobile drivers who don't seem able to see motorcycles!
While I am respectful of bikers road rights for obvious reasons - there is one motivation that is never mentioned and it should be acknowledged. Most car crashes do not cause serious injury or death. Car wrecks are more forgiving than bike mishaps. If I cause a wreck involving a bike, all bets are off.
A collisions that motorists walk away from can kill or maim a biker! Clearly, those who choose to ride a bike have made a decision that increases their own physical risk. However, they have made a choice that also puts me in greater financial peril. Soo, ride on folks. Just drive safely and watch out for bike riders who greatly increase your financial responsibility just so they can enjoy their high risk recreation.
As for you Darwin Award nominees who do not wear a helmet - you really sound so foolish commenting on the stupidity of other drivers.
AAAHHHH!!! another believer in the hype and B.S. put out by the ignorant, lying news media and the greedy helmet manufacturers.
L.A. Times headline: HELMETLESS MOTORCYCLIST KILLED!
if you read the full story, you would find that he died from chest injuries. is that news or propaganda?
Helmets are good up to about 35 mph. Anything over that, a helmet won't help. Plus, you increase the odds of having the helmet slip backwards, and breaking your neck. Sorry, if it came to a choice of quadriplegic or dead, I choose dead.
People who call us Darwin Award nominees because we understand the futility of helmets are only demonstrating their own ignorance of reality. Raw data proves beyond question that motorcycle fatalities in helmet law states is a pretty consistent 3.3%, while motorcycle fatalities in states that don't require helmets is a pretty consistent 3.1%. There are logical reasons for that, which most non-riders don't get.
Helmets generally affect the cause of death, and not the rate of death, except to increase it. Head trauma fatalities are reduced, while neck trauma deaths are increased. Why?
Because when you convince a new rider that if they strap a piece of fiberglass to their head they'll be invincible, that rider will be less hesitant to down a few beers and ride wheelies down the interstate. It's an irresponsible lie that helmets save lives, and it's time the insurance companies stopped propogating it. It's what's in your head that keeps you safe, and not what's on it.
I wonder if jim1000 would feel comfortable about having a trauma center technician pry a full face helmet from his head after he's suffered a serious neck injury.
I bet the middle-aged bikers that have accidents are in need of new bi-focals and hearing aids and are just being stubborn about their aging process.
It's pretty clear that you don't know what you're talking about.
B*U*L*L* P*U*C*K*Y*
I bought my last bike in 1994 I was 40 yrs old. It has 45,632 miles on it. No serious accidents yet. I did have to lay it down once. A young lady pulled out in front of me. In my younger days I totaled out 3 bikes none were my fault. it was always cars pulling out in front of me. One took a right hand turn from the left lane I hit him went over the hood & landed on my back. The bike was partially under the truck. I was very lucky that day. I did have a bad case of road rash. The driver of the truck was DUI & took to jail.
There is a difference between bikers and yuppie motorcycle enthusiasts, lifelong lifestyle vs. midlife crisis.
I'm assuming there are far fewer younger bikers than there were thirty, forty years ago, so their numbers aren't comparable to the older riders who are continuing their joy riding into their old age.
Interesting point, I read about a man who got a ticket for wearing a helmet while driving a car. The officer said the helmet interfered with the driver's vision and hearing.
Yep. It's illegal to wear a helmet while driving a car for those very reasons. Yet we're encouraged to restrict our vision and hearing on a motorcycle.
I agree that the information presented seems incomplete, at least it should mention any change in he percentage of the riding population that is "older". I wonder about the experience level of the riders having accidents too. I bet the during that time frame the average age of new riders went up significantly as a huge number of middle-agers bought Harleys. Inexperienced older riders on big bikes, probably riding helmetless no less, is a dangerous combination.
I ride some i perfer the truck .
One thing I am curious of is the demographics of who wears what gear. Are older riders or younger riders more likely to wear a full set? Or is there no statistical difference.
Recently, I had a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250R (EX250F model). I wanted to give motorcycling a try once in my life. For a whole year, I rode nearly every weekend. The motorcycle was amazing, but I definitely prefer sports cars much more. Plus, my first daughter was recently born so I figured it was a good time to hang up my helmet for awhile. I will probably get back on a bike, but it won't be for until my daughter is older, and I don't think I will ever stray far from sports cars again. (will probably get a Hyosung Comet 650 or used Suzuki SV650 or the like) Since I had no mishaps during that year of riding, maybe I just stopped while I was ahead.
When I rode, I rode in full equipment. Boots, gloves, full face helmet, cordura mesh riding jacket, and cordura riding pants. In my sport bike club, I was even considered under equipped! Most there sported perforated leather suits or jacket/pants combos with tall mid-calf length boots.
Then of course we have all seen them. The riders who merely follow the bare letter of the law. Just today I saw a guy on a Harley-Davidson with a pudding-cup style helmet (covers merely the top of your skull and sometimes the back) wearing a tank top, shorts, and tennis shoes. This does not of course end with Harley riders or any other sort of bike. I am sure we have all seen the kid on the YZF-R6 or similar UJM wearing a helmet, t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers.
I would be curious to see a study on that. Who wears AGATT (All Gear All The Time), who follows the bare letter of the law, and who just doesn't do anything.
And why is this in "Men's Health"??? I have known plenty of ladies to ride!
TXMX,
I'd like to see a definitive study and hard, raw statistics (unslanted toward anyone's agenda) that shows uncategorically, undeniably that all that gear saves lives. All the data out there (highway safety studies for the last few decades) demonstrates otherwise.
TXMX-5EE you're right that is one of the fastest growing groups of riders women. Our local Harley shop gives classes for women all the time.
Most Hells Angels over the age of 40 die of drug overdose, knife and gun wounds, venereal disease, DUI and food poison. If you live long enough as a long term biker to reach the age of 40 you are extremely lucky and will more than likely never have a serious accident.
Bighorn...You have to be really stupid to make a dangerous statement like you just made. You obviously have been overdosed watching reruns of the Sons of Anarchy and believe all the crap the shows producers are trying to apply this sterotype that all older bikers that are in legal motorcycle clubs are all Gangsters on Wheels. What you fail to mention all the good charity motorcycle clubs like the Hells Angels and others of they're ilk do for children and the sick & needy! Maybe you should run into some outlaws like you're trying to portray in your statement and say that to their faces you pussy! You hide behind a name on a message board, but, if you ever ran into some of these brothers, they're chain you up, and drag you behind their rides., and you deserve everything that they would do to you, again, Pussy!
case in point -- me.
age : 70
years riding : 55
estimated miles ridden : 600,000 to 900,000
states ridden in : minimum of 40
minor accidents : too many to count
major accidents 1
rides : 2 Harleys, 2 Triumphs
years left to ride : 10, hopefully
When will i stop riding ? : when i can't hold the bike up