Quote Originally Posted by Lisa S.H. View Post
I read recently that after many years of slow but steady decline in deaths of motorcycle riders in bike/vs/car accidents, these past two years have shown a sudden alarming leap in deaths for motorcycle riders. The only guess they have so far is the sudden proliferation of car drivers talking on cell phones...
There's no comparison between bicycle accidents and motorcycles, except in one aspect: Most if not all of the jump in motorcyclist deaths has to do with repeal of helmet laws in several states.

I have no interest in discussing helmet laws. Zero. Don't start. Suffice it to say that I am alive right now because of a bicycle helmet I was wearing at 21 mph twenty years ago.

If the statistic is true that someone posted that more bicyclists are wearing helmets, that's a great thing. But the opposite trend is true of motorcyclists, and *that* is what accounts for the increase in deaths. Unlike a bicycle, a motorcycle has big rear view mirrors and much more power than a car - it also has more maneuverability than a car. Unlike a bicycle, a motorcyclist *always* has the last clear chance to avoid a crash with a car, no matter whose legal fault the initial problem might have been.

Incidentally, most present-day motorcycle fatalities are also single-bike accidents.

There's no excuse for not paying attention *whatever* your mode of transportation. Recently a pedestrian was killed in my area, running at night with her back to traffic and an iPod jammed in her ear. I cringe every time I see a bicyclist with earbuds in. But motorcycle wrecks have no place in a discussion of bicycle wrecks.