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Published: 2008-04-21 12:29:58
Updated: 2008-04-21 12:29:58

Posted: April 21, 2008

Motorcycle Deaths Triple in Decade

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Raleigh, N.C. — The number of motorcyclists killed in wrecks statewide has tripled in the last 10 years, officials said Monday.

The state recorded 183 motorcycle rider deaths in 2007, up from 61 a decade earlier. Nationwide, deaths of motorcyclists jumped 140 percent during the same period.

Mild weather, which allows for extended riding seasons, and a 17 percent increase in motorcycle registrations over the past two years have contributed to the higher number of North Carolina deaths, officials said.

A Millbrook High School graduate died Thursday in a motorcycle wreck in the North Carolina mountains. Authorities said Cameron Wagner, 20, a student at Western Carolina University, lost control of his bike. Inexperience with the bike was the biggest factor in the crash, authorities said.

Gov. Mike Easley declared this week as Motorcycle Safety Week in North Carolina.

The Governor's Highway Safety Program urged motorcyclists to wear helmets meeting federal safety standards and to wear bright or reflective clothes to be more visible to other drivers. Other drivers should stay alert for motorcyclists and keep a safe distance from them, officials said.

Copyright 2011 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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If helmets help so much, why is that Iowa which is one of only three States with absolutely no helmet law reporting that in 2006 they had 57 motorcycle deaths? Ten of them caused by dear, they do not have that problem here in NC.

Now some will say but they have a shorter riding season that could be true, but it is maybe 1 month shorter not 3 months.

But lets say we use that as an argument, then how is SC who only has a 16 and under helmet law reporting 120 deaths for 2006 because if anything it has a longer season then NC.

Maybe it is because without the fatigue, helmet weight and loss of vision/hearing due to a helmet there are less accidents. New Hampshire and Iowa, which have no helmet laws, reported fatality rates of 3.0 and 3.5, per 10,000 motorcycles, respectively, in 2006. By comparison, the rates in Mississippi and Maryland, which require helmets for all riders, were much higher - 20 and 12 respectively
mtr
April 22, 2008 4:32 p.m.
Sign that donor card & hop on board. There is a paucity of healthy organs for transplant & motorcyclists are generally young & healthy - great donors. In fact, repealing the helmet requirement would increase the organ pool further.
Click to view my profile oldschooltarheel
April 22, 2008 9:24 a.m.
Numerically this is a non-story. # of cycles up 17% in two years. But stats on fatalities is over 10 years. Could we please compare apples and other fruits... I ride and I've been lucky. I've only had one close call and that was a stop sign runner. There are a lot of us out there and the # will climb with price of gas. You crazy car drivers better watch it, cause I'm watching you.
Click to view my profile OLD PIRATE 2
April 21, 2008 4:10 p.m.
Motorcyclist are NOT the ONLY speeders on the road! I have become a motorcycle rider as a result of increasing fuel costs. Obviously, I ride even more cautiously than I drive because there is very little room for error. This much I can say as a new cyclist and law enforcement officer, the vast majority of riders conform to speed limits and safe riding practices. I do agree that there are a few bad apples who regularly ride outside the scope of their bike, experience, and law; but they are the few who give all a bad name. That having been said, know what you are talking about BEFORE painting any group (in this case motorcyclists) with such a broad brush.

For the record, I do hope that as more cycles hit the roads, that the average driver will begin to take more notice and be more cognizant of them. People are looking for large vehicles, they tend to just overlook the small person and bike approaching them.
Click to view my profile Jeff_W
April 21, 2008 4:03 p.m.
I am a rider of 3 years. I have taken the Motorcycle Saftey Foundations class and I will have to agree that INEXPERIENCE is probably one of the main reasons people are in fatal accidents. BUT I want you to know that my husband, with over 30 years of riding experience and myself have not going riding one day in the past 3 years that we have not seen a driver in an automobile, while talking on their cell phones pull out in front of us or one of our friends riding with us. We plead with other that don't ride bikes to PLEASE pay attention to all of us out on the road. We do everything in our power to make sure we and our daughter are safe when we are on our bikes as well as in our car. The loud pipes people complain about do SAVE LIVES!
octoberem
April 21, 2008 3:59 p.m.
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