Mom, Can I Have a Hog?
Everybody knows, because Mom told us, the dangers of BB guns, running with scissors and jumping down stairs. No one gathered statistics on the number of BBs fired versus number of eye injuries. But whenever a neighborhood accident occurred--and for years thereafter--the nation’s mothers seized the incident as proof, rendering appeals useless. Now, alas, comes a Times analysis of federal safety statistics by reporter Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar confirming Mom’s warnings about 600-pound bicycles with motors large enough to rattle windows.
The sheer joy, the power in pushing one button, causing that shiny machine to burst noisily to life, ready to surge into the future at the flick of a wrist, unleashing horsepower that rumbled through a body, announcing the rider’s presence to a no-doubt watching world? What could be dangerous about that?
However, the new study is important. It reveals that helmet laws have hidden the graying of American motorcyclists. Contrary to their popular image as youthful and impetuous, a growing number of bikers are, like Marlon Brando and Peter Fonda, “older,” meaning beyond--often well beyond--35. Thousands of 50-somethings are taking up motorcycles with engines that could conceivably outrun the aging process. And it seems Mom was right. In 1999, for the first time, older people made up a majority of Americans killed in motorcycle accidents. Something about overconfidence and slower reactions. This is disturbing. In fact, biker fatalities among older riders rose 59% in the five years through 1999. Among younger riders fatalities fell 22%. This is admirable.
As everyone knows, however, statistics cannot tell the whole story. What can statistics say about a shiny 1,200cc machine, pumping out massive torque and moving you on down the road with more muscle, authority and independence than you could dream of at work--or home? What stat can describe the feel of a low-profile teardrop tank, the sturdiness of a custom shifter peg, the unspoken defiance of mirrors engraved “Born to Ride” and the serious growl of an engine announcing your approach and rapid passing? And no number could sense the sun on the face, cruising a curvaceous coastline on an endless Saturday full of freedom. Not to mention motorcycles conserving our precious petroleum reserves.
Yes, the disturbing safety statistics show motorcyclists accounted for 2,472 of the 41,611 people killed on U.S. roads in 1999. That’s too many. Safer riding is imperative. Of course, the same fatality numbers can also be read to reveal that 94% of the people killed on the road that year were not riding motorcycles. Which may be misleading, but we take our encouragement as it comes. Motorcyclists also support the leather clothing industry. And did we mention that motorcycles save gas? Mom, are you reading this?
