Good News for Motorcycle Riders |
Posted: July 31, 2018 |
Now more than ever, it seems like blog posts and nightly news play political clips, scandals and celebrity sightings on a continuous loop. When our newsfeed is filled to the brim about immigration policies, President Donald Trump, and Michael Cohen, sometimes good news understandably gets overlooked. One piece of information that does bear repeating is that nationwide motorcycle fatalities are declining. Whenever a motorcyclist dies because a inattentive driver made a left-turn or was texting, it's always a tragedy because the situation could have most likely been avoided. Still, every less motorcyle-related death on the road is a cause for celebration. A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) revealed that in 2017 the number of motorcyclists killed on the road dropped by 5.6% to just under 5000 motorcycle accident-related wrongful deaths. The actual number, 4,990 people killed on motorcycles in 2017, is of course, not the desired goal of zero riders killed but to see the numbers go down at least - even marginally - is a step in the right direction. This number, based on preliminary data provided by State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs), represents a projected 5.6% decrease from 2016 – a difference of 296 lives. That's huge! In spite of this reduction, motorcyclists remain significantly overrepresented as a proportion of all traffic deaths, with motorcyclist fatalities occurring 28 times more often than passenger vehicleoccupantfatalities per mile traveled. This is a stark reminder that much work remains to establish a lasting downward trend. The report provides an early look at current data, trends, and developing issues. All 50 states and the District of Columbia contributed their preliminary motorcyclistfatality counts for the full 2017 calendar year. Compared with 2016, motorcyclist fatalities decreased in 30 states, remained the same in two states, and increased in 18 states. State responses indicate a variety of factors may have been contributing to motorcyclist fatalities in 2017, including:
At the end of the day, I'm ecstatic to hear the number of motorcycle fatalities are decreasing. Motorcycling is a tradition in my household, with my father and brother taking rides almost every weekend. As a child, I remember my mother saying to my dad before a ride, "Please come home." It's a sentiment that I'm sure is a common thread amongst motocyclists and their families. I'm happy to know that out of the statistics shown, that more and more fathers, sons and brothers like my own, are getting home safely.
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