"What’s killing us" is a 3000 word article that I was tasked with by a local publication. After writing the piece it has gone unused for more than a year, so I have decided to release it on my blog in 3(?) parts. I hope you enjoy it.
What's Killing Us?
In a nutshell, I was asked to do some research and find out exactly “what’s killing us”. Or to be more verbose, go beyond the cliché explanations of why motorcycles crash and discover the real reason why it happens.
And if I had some spare time, I’ll also try to figure out where that lost city of gold was located.
In a way, a study of “what’s killing us” is really a study of what can we do to prevent the accidents that kill us. When we look at the issue in a simple fashion; “what’s killing us” is simple physics – the human body isn’t designed to impact against an object going at a high speed. That much cannot be argued.
It’s a daunting task; in our initial conversations, we spoke about the latest mainstream press reports over baby boomers dying wholesale on their gigantic BMW or Harley-Davidson rigs. We spoke about the current conceptions that the media has cast over the general public; the ideas that seem to come through in most crash stories that get some press.
The next time you see a crash reported in the local news, read closer; I bet you that they spend at least a sentence reporting on whether the rider was wearing a helmet, or drinking, but not a word about wearing gloves, or boots, or leathers. Speed is another thing that always gets press. A lot of the time, the type of motorcycle will get a mention. Usually, the story will cite one of the two archetypes that most average non-riders fit all bikes into – A cruiser (Harley) or a sport bike (crotch rocket). But the actual factors in what caused the accident may get no attention at all. Is it simple pandering to the popular option of the public?
We were both interested in figuring out what was pre-conception and what was really going to do some good in helping people avoid accidents. Things like drinking are obvious - but what about the things that we think are also obvious? Speeding? Training? Motorcycle size or type? Engine displacement? What about these things? Is there even a proverbial ‘smoking gun’ to be found?
Most Internet message boards are ablaze with riders preaching the gospel of the experienced. You’ll find a battle raging between these posters; everyone knows how to solve the problem. Experience, tiered licensing structures, gear, sobriety, banning cell phones, etc. are all ideas that are prevalent in these discussions.
Would you be shocked to hear a recent study from the IIHS showed that training did next to nothing to help new riders avoid crashing? And what of that study and others like it; How do we know which ones are credible?
I don’t want to re-hash and analyze statistics for 2500 words; really I don’t. Almost all the information from the various reports discussed here are freely available on the web. What I really want to get down to is two things:
What is truth?
What is really killing us?
Check back for part 2 of this new multi-part series!
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