MC deaths in Florida

[Tufbusa]

What's up with you guys in Florida? I just heard on the news that Motorcycle deaths in Florida are up by 81% over the past three years since the "No Helmet" law was passed? Anyone else aware of this? I had no idea there would be that many guys out there who think the can survive a crash without a helmet?

 

[paulos]

geez thats well bad

over here there clamping on bikers all the time.

 

[HillsRider]

I really doubt that the no helmet law actually had that big of an effect. I have seen several news reports about how motorcycle deaths are climbing at an alarming rate & the government should do something about it. The truth behind it (nation wide anyways) is that the number of riders has dramatically increased and thus so has the number of deaths & accidents. They don't tell you that part because it wouldn't make the headlines.

 

[BigK]

81% is way to high. Helmet or not riders need to be more careful.

 

[Creekboy]

Personally I think its the unexperienced riders buying there first bikes which are mainly high performance...you know the wheelie bikes.....cbr 600....gixer 600, 1000, and the busas..and the kaws...these guys get alittle confident and then boom there down .....

 

[mountainmotor]

Thats high enough for lawmakers to take note .

Soon , reckon we will see signs like cars and semi trucks speed limit 70 .

Motorcycles 55 .

Mountain regions = No motorcycles allowed

??

Or will their top priority still be the likes of how to take the family on vacation using the states money without getting caught ect ect .

 

[bronc3]

I occasionally ride without a helmet, but realize that each time I do drastically increases my chance of a potential crash turning fatal due to a head injury. No doubt the dramatic increase of riders on the road has an effect on the number of fatalities, but rest assured the lack of helmets being worn has increased it as well. They should report numbers showing fatalities attributed to head injuries.

 

[shenoyp]

What's up with you guys in Florida? I just heard on the news that Motorcycle deaths in Florida are up by 81% over the past three years since the "No Helmet" law was passed? Anyone else aware of this? I had no idea there would be that many guys out there who think the can survive a crash without a helmet?

...Thats bad!! Why dont people realise the helmet is for their own safety and wear one... irrespective of what the law says

 

[si-lo]

81% is a relative amount. For instance if the number of riders has increased 81% then the percentage of death to riders is unchanged. But then again if there were 5 deaths last year and 9 deaths this year that is an 80% increase. I hate percentages. Give me hard numbers to look at the actual rates. Of course you can make numbers say what you want. It's still bad but I think a little exaggerated.

 

[dm_gsxr]

I'm with you si-lo. Without understanding all the facts, 81% is meaningless.

MCN had an article a couple of months back about the increase in accidents and how they are also attributible to the increase in SUV and light pickup sales.

When a car turns left in front of a biker, you are thrown over the top of the car. When a pickup or SUV turns left, you impact into the side of the vehicle. Much higher chance of serious injury or death.

I've seen some articles mix up the number of deaths with the number of young riders when in fact, the death increase was with older, returning to the sport or just starting after the kids have left, riders. Their reflexes aren't what they used to be, sight and hearing too. The younger guys start out on a smaller used bike with less horsepower since they can't always afford the big HD or 'busa.

I saw the same article in the Denver Post this morning and wanted to check out the research company to see if they have an agenda; paid for by the helmet companies for example.

BTW, I live in a no helmet law state (Colorado) and I wear a helmet all the time on both bikes.

Carl

 

[diesel]

What's up with you guys in Florida? I just heard on the news that Motorcycle deaths in Florida are up by 81% over the past three years since the "No Helmet" law was passed? Anyone else aware of this? I had no idea there would be that many guys out there who think the can survive a crash without a helmet?

81%? Is that all? I used to see all the cruiser guys without helmets but lately I see 2/3rds of the sportbike guys without them, too. Also, since the last couple of years with the price of gas going up, I see a LOT more people on the road with bikes and a lot of scooters. You see these middle-aged dudes cruising down 4 lane roads in heavy traffic doing 40 on their cute little scooters in a 55 zone.
I try to ride in the rural areas and take my suv in heavy traffic so I can hopefully run over some drunk illegal immigrants that are taking over down here.

 

[Lonestar]

I live in south Florida and ALWAYS wear a helmet weather on a cruiser or sportbike, law or no law. Saved my mellon a couple of times in past years. Would'nt be typing this now if not.
I bet if you disected the numbers you would find out that 75% of the 81% were Harley riders! Most import riders down here wear lids, sportbikes AND cruiser people. It's the HD people that ride mainly to look cool and impress people,(not because they love the sport) that dont wear lids. IMHO

 

[RamminBusa]

If they would quit riding in the Hurricanes they might score far less..  

Seriously, anyone who grew up riding off road can tell you there is just no good reason not to wear a helmet.  Eat a couple rocks and tree branches and you will see what I am talking about.  On-road you have to worry about debris, bugs, rocks, birds, critters, pets, people, cages, oil spots, anti-freeze, and such..  Only your doing it at a higher rate of speed..

Wear a helmet and be safe please...

PS dont ride a hardley....



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[Oldroller]

I see more people not wearing helmets than those who do wear them here in Florida. The majority of them are the Harley and cruiser guys. I don’t feel sorry for anyone who gets killed because they refuse to wear a helmet. I never jumped out of airplanes without my parachute and I'm still alive to talk about it.

 

[BusaCruise]

yeah...that 81% is totally useless.
no clarification on what type of bikes are going down.

Harley will "GIVE" just about anyone with even fair credit a bike....

In FL we ride damn close to all year round....no real "seasons" for us...so they get an extra 4~6 months of riding to go down.

Bike Week type of activities are scattered throughout the year....we draw a much larger crowd from accross the nation... it's hard for other states to claim accidents if their riders are here in FL... lol

We also have the "god's waiting room" factor....per capita, the highest number of retired / legally blind /can't see over the steering wheel / comatose / nearly dead drivers in the USA!

They just do not look...no matter if you are cager or bike...so what do you thing your odds are against that caddilac or lincoln town car they are driving?
Theri should be a mass transit system dedicated for the elderly..if you are over 70...you forfiet your liscense and get to ride for free...period.
It's either that or they all get golf carts.

Anyone in FL that doesn't wear helmet is just a damn fool. IMO.
We live on a freakin sandbar! Between the sand and the bugs...it's just stooooopid!
Sure I have gone a mile or two from my house without my lid...but that's it, and I regretted it each time. It's what made me realize the type of abuse my helmet must go through on a minute by minute basis.....like it's betting bead blasted non-stop.

 

[RandomNickname]

I was reading another article on this (don;t have the link right here, unfortunately), and ridership in FL is actually up 91%, which means, relatively speaking, that the number/frequency of deaths on a per capita basis is actually DOWN over the past three years... if I'm reading/figuring things correctly, that is.

 

[dm_gsxr]

All right. The Preusser Research Group site appears to be down. Maybe being overwhelmed by other bikers checking out the article stats. I did a google search and found the +50% and +100% Kentucky/Louisiana article over here.

The +50% increase in fatalities in Kentucky in actual hard numbers went from 24 in 96 and 97 (repeal) to 27 in 98, then 40, then down to 36 killed riders in 2000 (including pillions).

The +100% increase in Louisiana in actual hard numbers went from 19 in in 97, to 34 in 98 (repeal), to 40 in 99, 57 in 00 and down to 54 in 01.

The article also compares with Texas and Arkansas stats.

Texas had a 37% increase in actual hard numbers went from 124 in 95, 110 in 96 (repeal), 112 in 97, 147 in 98 and 174 in 99.

Arkansas had a 29% increase in actual hard numbers went from 14 in 95, 24 in 96 (repeal), 18 in 97, 28 in 98 and 21 in 99.

It goes on to say that motorcycle fatalities in the US increased by 50.3%, registrations increased by 12%, and number of miles driven increased by 5.6%.

What I prefer to see is that Kentucky motorcyclists killed per 10,000 averaged 6.4 in the two years prior to repeal and 8.8 in the two years following. Louisiana's rate per 10,000 was 4.5 averaged in the two years prior and 7.9 in the following two years.

Kentucky had 36,603 registered riders in 96 and 44,003 in 2000. 8 additional motorcycle deaths with 8,000 additional rregistered bikes.

Louisiana had 60,042 registered riders in 96 and 72,445 in 2000. 28 more deaths and 12,000 more registered bikes.

I'd like to see the report for Florida too. Not being a stats guy, can 8 additional deaths with 8,000 new bikes be statistically significant? Remember, the deaths include pillions. With 8,000 more bikes, how many have pillions? Even if half (a pretty high number), that's 8 deaths for 12,000 riders.

They're comparing registered bikes (1.0) vs motorcycle deaths (1.5? 1.4?), a number that includes pillions.

Oh, and at the beginning, the number of helmetless riders vs helmetted riders was an observational count. Someone or a group of someones hung out at bike shops, bars, or even street corners and counted heads. Again, we don't have the hard numbers, time of year, weather. Certainly there'd be more helmets and less riders in inclement weather. Hanging around Daytona Beach in Fl will certainly see a higher number of helmetless heads vs dual sporting or touring.

Carl

 

[dm_gsxr]

Yep RandomNickname, you're right. Per the Florida report, in 1994 the number of registered motorcycles in Florida was 177,374. In 2002 the number is 323,301. In 94, the rate per 10,000 was 7.0. In 2000 (repeal) it was 10.0. In 2001 it was 9.5 and 2002 it was 9.3. It's going down.

Man that's annoying. That's why I like to see the raw data and not someone's massaging of the data. So I can read and understand the info that's presented and have a good understanding of just what's going on.

Carl

 

[si-lo]

Goes to show, you can make numbers say what you want. It's all in how you present them.

 

[The Big Red One]

Thats high enough for lawmakers to take note .

Soon , reckon we will see signs like cars and semi trucks speed limit 70 .

Motorcycles 55 .

Mountain regions = No motorcycles allowed

??

Or will their top priority still be the likes of how to take the family on vacation using the states money without getting caught ect ect .

Nah...they'll just blame the bike makers for the general public's lack of/inability to use common sense.....and start limiting horsepower.
They really need a stepped license system for bikes so beginners can't jump on big bikes and raise all our insurance rates through the roof. Just like in Europe, beginners should be limited to small bikes at first and work their way up every 2 years. Of course what fun would that be...trying to give your best "ya'll watch this" act of stupidity on a puny little 250 instead of a liter bike or Busa.  

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