UNEASY RIDERS: Can’t get there from here?...

UNEASY RIDERS: Can’t get there from here? Street Smart will show you how (B1). But chances are you won’t go on a motorcycle. Registration in the county is down 17% since 1979. Dealers cite safety concerns, but ABATE, a Ventura-based riders group, blames the helmet law. “A lot of people have quit riding,” spokesman John Loudermilk said. Rex Averis of Thousand Oaks Yamaha-Kawasaki sees another culprit: gasoline prices. “If they were higher,” he said, “motorcycle sales would improve.”

What We Drive

Vehicle registration in Ventura County: Cars 1992: 402,253 1979: 278,605 Trucks 1992: 114,382 1979: 68,585 Motorcycles 1992: 15,806 1979: 19,194 Source: Department of Motor Vehicles