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Posted by Howboucha Baby boomers accelerate need for motorcycle safety training Drinking, drug-related accidents cause half of motorcycle fatalities By Lori Henson/Tribune-Star April 6, 2002 Baby boomers who gave up their "Easy Rider" dreams to raise a family and get a real job often find that returning to the seat of a motorcycle doesn't feel the same at 50 as at 25, say safety instructors. But 40- and 50-somethings, in particular, have been seeking motorcycle registrations in record numbers in the past five years. With bigger engines and more free time, Boomers have also experienced more accidents and injuries. On Friday, Doug Bailey got recognition for 15 years spent trying to keep new bikers safe. Bailey is the site coordinator at Indiana State University's Driver and Traffic Safety Center at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds. The site trains new riders in motorcycle safety and trains new instructors to meet the rising demand for courses. By December 2001, 900 Hoosiers had asked to be put on this year's state mailing list for training courses. Many riders -- still majority male and, on average, about age 35 -- buy a bike trying to recapture part of their youth spent buzzing through open fields and along dirt roads. But a buzzing dirt bike handles differently than the full-sized Harley Davidsons and Hondas their money can now buy, said Stan Henderson, ISU associate professor of health and safety and the site's motorcycle safety project coordinator. "Back then, they jumped on a small bike and now they're on 1,000 [cubic centimeters engine] and it's a little bit different," he said. Bailey received two plaques on Friday for his efforts to train hundreds of students in basic motorcycle safety since the 1980s. But the real reward for Bailey and for Mike Moore, the state Department of Education motorcycle training specialist, is keeping fatalities and injuries down. With a 23 percent surge in state motorcycle registrations between 1996 and 1999, injuries increased 20 percent and fatalities 14 percent, according to the Motorcycle Safety Program. But compared to statistics before the state took over and aggressively promoted motorcycle safety programs in 1987, fatalities went down 55 percent. In 1986, 134 people died in motorcycle accidents in the state. In 2000, the number of fatalities was 60. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported last summer that even though motorcyclist fatalities declined between 1990 and 1997, in the over-40 age group there was an 8.4 percent increase in fatalities between 1997 and 1998 and a 7.8 percent increase between 1998 and 1999. And the 40 to 49 and over 49 age groups showed a steady increase each year between 1990 and 1999. Meeting the demand for instructors requires training courses by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's chief instructors, including Bill Yeiser of Evansville, who let his class out to see Bailey's award presentation. Earlier, Yeiser walked about a dozen would-be instructors through a training course that, next week, they will teach themselves. The students began on Wednesday five days of classroom training and will end with three days of student teaching. "At the end of the riding gear [section], it would be a good time to ask the students, 'Do you have any questions about gear?'" Yeiser said to the class after a question about the importance of wearing gloves. After quizzing a couple of instructor students, he asks one to introduce a safety film. The film's smooth voice-over appeals to riders' wanderlust. "The joy of motorcycling," the voice invites. "You feel it on a long tour -- on a perfect curving road. ... You and your motorcycle are a team." The film walks through safety concerns from starting the bike to taking it out on the open road. The biggest dangers to motorcyclists are drinking and drug-related accidents, which account for about half of motorcycle fatalities. Four-wheeled vehicles turning left in front of motorcycles or disregarding their space is the second-leading cause of accident and death, Moore said. Before 1987, Moore said, dealer training was often the only safety course for motorcyclists. "A dealer took you out, showed you the keys and patted you on the back and said, 'Thank you very much,'" Moore said. Instructors such as Bailey, Moore and Yeiser are seeing that the motorcycle's owners manual isn't the last word on safety
on 4/6/2002, 8:09 am
From the Terre Haute Tribune-Star- April 6, 2002
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