Excerpt from: Motorcycle Lawyer
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| December 01, 2008 | | Harley Rider in Accident Two Years Ago | The heat is on the Dept. of Transportation to get going on the study of motorcycle injuries funded long ago, partly by the motorcycle industry itself.
Interestingly, Mary Peters, the head of the Department of Transportation, is herself a rider. She crashed her Harley two years ago, with a fractured collar bone as the result.
Her personal conclusion is that her helmet saved her. At least, publicly, that is how she describes the accident. Her focus, of course, is that motorcyclists should be encouraged, persuaded, required, to wear helmets.
I agree that it is far safer to wear a helmet than not, but obviously there is something else going on here. An awful lot of helmet wearing riders are being injured and killed.
Peters blames part of the issue on older riders. She notes that there are more 50 year old plus riders out there than ever before, and cites the statistic that they are having 400% more accidents.
Still, this is far different than an actual study of the issues. Drinking and driving, faster motorcycles, older drivers, etc. Many potential things we can point at. No substitute for information.
I would like to know the effect that faster, more maneuverable cars have on the statistics. Although there have been a few initiatives to make automotive drivers more aware of motorcyclists, this has not been shown to have much effect.
On the other hand, there is a lot of evidence that drivers who make a left hand turn in front of motorcyclists cause a serious amount of injuries every year.
| Topic Tags: Broken Collar Bone, Death, DOT, drinking and driving, faster motorcycles, Helmet, left hand turn, Mary Peters, Motorcycle Safety, Motorcycle Study, older riders | |
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