Motorcycle Rider Safety Task Force Report
Recommendations will no doubt lead to new legislation
In case you missed it, motorcycle fatalities in Washington state
are increasing at a rate higher than the percentage growth of new
riders. In 2004, 72 people died in motorcycle accidents and the raw
2006 number is higher than that.
Governor Gregoire was briefed on this situation by several
departments including the State Patrol, Washington Traffic and
Safety and the DOL. As a result she requested a task force to
investigate why the numbers were climbing at such a rapid rate. The
task force was made up of 16 people ranging from local dealers,
rights organizations, government agencies and riding clubs.
It takes about 10 minutes to read through the report
which you can view by visiting
http://www.dol.wa.gov/about/reports/mototaskforce.pdf.
Read it, then make your way back to this article for our take
on it.
First off, the report was important to finding solutions to the
problems. As you will or have read, more than half the deaths are
single-vehicle occurrences involving just the rider and his or her
motorcycle. There are four distinct areas that define the primary
reasons for each fatality – lane error, alcohol, speeding and
inattention. A third of the fatalities involve unendorsed riders.
I was a bit concerned that the original data I saw mid-summer
only included deaths, but the revised report includes head trauma
numbers for those who didn’t quite bite the entire bullet. 72 deaths
in 2004, but the Department of Health reports show there were 800
head trauma cases that same year. Such numbers might make a rider
think twice before they don a soup bowl (1/2 shell helmet) on their
head before the next ride.
But let’s get back to the reason why these fatalities occur. The
report says the four primary causes are lane error, alcohol,
speeding and inattention. I boil this down to two categories.
The first is common sense. You need it to operate a motorcycle
safely. Drinking too much alcohol and/or speeding shows little
common sense when riding. But in more than 40% of the fatalities one
or both reasons show up. Here’s how my common sense works. If I’m
aware that a rider in my group is exhibiting speed I make a point to
stop the ride and discuss the situation. It’s not fun to do, but it
always yields a better ride for all. As we’ve pointed out here in
the past, crashing puts a damper on the ride and we’d like to avoid
that. As for riding with people who drink in excess, I don’t ride
with them and it would behoove you not to either – for your own
safety.
Specifically concerning alcohol, the task force recommends a
campaign of sorts that will promote behavior modification in the
motorcycle community. Shocking to see how many of the alcohol
related fatalities showed blood alcohol levels between .15 and .30.
That equates to 4-5 drinks an hour. Most of us would have to crawl
to our taxi with numbers like that and it’s amazing that people
actually hoist themselves onto their iron horses and attempt to
ride. Some print magazine publishers would look a little more
responsible/empathetic if they voluntarily began removing
revenue-generating ‘biker friendly bars’ directories from their
publications. It’s surely one of the first steps to behavior
modification.
The second category to look at here is skill sets. Lane errors
and inattention can be avoided with good training. We’re not talking
about the Uncle Billy Bob school of motorcycle training on the back
40, we’re talking about getting good training from a state- approved
or otherwise reputable course such as Rider’s Edge. People who take
the classes typically take their riding seriously and learn the
proper ways to keep focused on what’s happing around them, corner a
motorcycle, and determine a pass and so on. Without such education
under your noggin the chances increase that you will experience some
sort of crash sooner than an educated rider. The numbers in the
report reveal that 86% of the victims in 2004 had not taken the
state-approved course.
This brings up an interesting point. The task force refrained
from recommending that a certified education course be required
before an endorsement will be issued. It’s always been a big
question mark around the halls here as to why you have to get
training to operate a truck or school bus, but not to ride a
motorcycle which is an entirely different mode of operation from any
four-wheel vehicle. The main issue is lack of instructors and land.
But look at the budget at the end of the report and see how the task
force has developed an economic model to increase the number of
riders educated each year from 11,886 to 26,800 riders by 2011. That
would move the state much closer to being able to educate every new
rider and perhaps mandatory education is closer than you think.
On the unendorsed rider issue it was interesting to note that the
number actually decreased from 52% unendorsed rider fatalities in
2001 to just 25% unendorsed fatalities in 2002 and 2003.
Coincidentally in the fall of 2001 was when Sound RIDER! ran a
series of
controversial articles exposing the high rate of unendorsed
riders in the state. Did they have an impact?
We’re also impressed with the task force’s recommendation to
impound motorcycles from those who don’t have endorsements. Bottom
line – if an officer lets a rider go after pulling them over without
an endorsement then doesn’t the liability with regard to that
rider's safety fall to the State? Unfortunately there may need to be
some legislation involved to get the ball rolling on this one.
Another recommendation in the report is that dealers not allow
customers to ride a bike off the lot without the proper endorsement.
Right now a number of reputable dealers already exercise this and it
can’t help but reduce their liability and bolster their reputation
as a responsible outfit. Many are the stories of servicemen
returning from duty only to be found dead three hours after
purchasing their first motorcycle.
The recommendations continue with a suggestion to dump the
Motorcycle Safety Foundation curriculum for training and move toward
a curriculum similar to that of Oregon. The MSF curriculum has been
under scrutiny ever since it was revised several years ago, or
‘dumbed-down’ as it’s often put by industry insiders. It’s noted
that doing such a thing would reduce about half the costs of
instructional materials used today. That reduction is not noted in
the funding recommendations budget at the end of the report but the
math might say that less money spent per rider means more money
available to train more riders.
We like this one too. DOL should seek legislation to include
motorcycle operators in the requirement to show a current motorcycle
endorsement for renewal of a motorcycle registration. A move like
this would indeed up the amount of endorsed riders and pipe more
money into the system for new rider training.
The final recommendation is that clubs encourage endorsement for
participation in organized riding events. There are some who will
say "We’re not the police, why should we do this?" On the other hand
there are those of us who simply refuse to ride with un-endorsed
riders.
In years past, it’s been required that for a rider to win in the 3
Pass Blast event each year he or she must be able to provide proof
of an endorsement. We’re not doling out checks to those who don’t
take it upon themselves to ride within the law.
Read the report and understand that this is all going to
culminate into some of the most interesting legislation we’ve seen
in some time over the next few years. The local motorcycling
community stands on the crest of a period that’s going to shape and
change the way things are today. Be true to yourself and support the
causes that make the most sense to you by supporting the lobbying
organizations that will no doubt be the driving forces behind
passing legislation that will evolve our community and those beyond
our own backyard.
Tom Mehren/Fall 06 |
