Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

DO STATISTICS LIE? Are motorcycles more daagerous &bID cars? Which kills more people cycles or trains? Read tbis for some surprises. How many times have you read statistics concerniag motorcycle accideots and shook your head and said, ·That can't be right-? Then your non-cycling friend says, ·Statistics don't lie-. Both of you might very well be right. True, statistics don't lie but when used incorrectly or incompletely they C&D change the picture just as much as a half truth and be very misleading. For example: I recently read that motorcycle accidents have increased 253% dariDg the past five years in California. It sounds pretty bad doesn't it? Well, it's not as bad as it sounds. Why? Because, to get the true picture you need to know that motorcycle registration in California has iocreased over 500% in the same five year period. It doeso't sound so bad now, does it? Actually, the accidents rose oaly half as fast as the cycle population. E. W. (Pete) Colman, vice president of BSA Motorcycles-Western decided he would compare the statistics himself in order to find the whole truth about motorcycles safety. First he compared motorcycl es to private planes. He found that in 1965 there were 1,380.726 registered motorcycles and approximately 200,000 private planes. There were 1,580 deaths due to motorcycle accidents and 1.018 attributed to pri vate planes. In other words, motorcycles caused 1.1 deaths per thousand registered motorcycles and there were five deaths per thousand private planes. Let's chalk up one for motorcycles. It appears that they are safer than private flying, which most people consider quite safe. . Mr. Colman also discovered that train and vehicle collisions, which we seldom hear about, compared to the many reports of motorcycle accidents, is a bigger killer than motorcycle-car collisions. Trains killed 1,600 in 1965 or 20 more than motorcycles. Of course, the old favorite argument is the safety of the automobile versus the motorcycle. Leaving no stone unturned, Mr. Colman examined this also. He found that the majority of cyclist are under 30, so he compared the motorcycle death record with automobile drivers of tbe same age group. HiS r~search showed that 4.1 perso,:s nd~ e.ach motorcycle, but for hlS statlstiCs he said that each motorcycle was ridden at various times by only two persons (not 4.1) under 30 years of age. This means that there were 2,761,425 under-30 year old riders on motorcycles. Now let's compare this with the death rate of the 29,200,000 motor vehicle drivers of under 30. The 1,580 fatal motorcycle accidents showed a death rate of .56 deaths per thousand drivers and passengers. The 25,900 motor vehicles deaths in this age group produced a death rate of .88 deaths. Are we still to believe that motorcycles are more dangerous than cars? Mr. Colman says, "NO", that cycles are the safer of tbe two. Inevitably when talking about motorcycle safety the subject of safety helmets comes up. Mr. Colman also did some cbecking in this area. He suggests perhaps we should strap on a helmet as soon as we get out of bed if we really want to be safe. The statistics show that the home is not a paragon of safety. There were 23,200,000 home accidents in 1965 and 4,200,000 of these were disabling. These home accidents caused 28,000 deaths and 11.900 of these were from falls. How marlY lives would helmets have saved here? Maybe the politicians should pass a law that everyone wear a helmet at all times. Cornell Uni versity indicates that head injuries occur in 72% of all auto acciden ts, and Mr. Douglas W. Toms, director, Department of Motor Vehicles, state of Washington, stated that 60% of motorcycle deaths in his state were a result of head injuries. The statement was made at the two wheel safety seminar held at Norton Air Force Base, California, in November 1966. Dr. Robert Watanabe (Orthopedic Surgeon) of the U.C.L.A. Research Center, listed head injuries as third (following multiple injuries and fractures of the lower extremities) in his accident frequency report at the Air Force Seminar. Mr. Toms also reported that 70% of all motorcycle accidents were caused by automobile drivers and not by the motorcycle rider. So, it appears that not only is the automobile more dangerous than the motorcycle, but that it is chiefly responsible for causing 70% of all the motorcycle accidents. In conclusion Mr. Colman feels that to wear a 'helmet (maybe all the time) is good advice and the cyclist should ride defensively and watch out for automobile drivers as well as road obstacles. He feels that motorcycles are safer than many other modes of transportation, and that statistics prove the point if used completely. "In fact a motorcycle" says Pete "is only as safe as the nut that hoids on the handlebars. " safety seminars held recently around the country. NOT ENOUGH STATISTICS have been correlated, few studies of accident patterns have been made and almost no research has been attempted in the effectiveness of accident prevention. Last year's sudden panlc by a couple of medlcs over the severity of the few motorcycle accidents they had seen and the attendant publicity on the national press probably cost the sport 100,000 motorcycle sales. For some it was more of a welcome breather than a setback, for progress seems to have gotten ahead of the motorcycle industry. The doctors' alanns also startled the motorcycle industry into awaleness that unless they met the safety Challenge, loss of profits and government intetference would be inevitable. The atmosphere was so charged with tension last October that mighty Honda and majestic Harley-Davidson got together, at the urging of Cycle News. to establish an independent Motorcycle Safety Council to finance and coordlnate safety efforts. This proposition has gone through several modifications and may yet emerge via the Motorcycle and Allied Trades Association. It all hinges on Honda's and Harley's mutual willingness to comm unlcate. Late in 1966 the industry chiefs drew up proposed laws to license riders, regulate helmets, and standardize safety requirements in the 50 states. Locai grants. government, police and private industry launched researches into the problems of motorcycle safety. several parties are attemPting to establish private rider training schools, which apPears to be the best solution to the problem, in the long run. Prior to then we could only point to our publications to prove our good intent. MAIL BAG Lose Something? This tool box was lost by some one in October of this year - in the Little Rock Trails area. It was then given to the Southern California Trails Association officials. At the present time, I have the tool box at my home. Would it be possible to print this By Chuck Clayton THE FUTURE lJES AHEAD FlRST 11IING&--To all our favorite people who sent Christmas cards, messages and good wishes to Cycle News while we were ciosed for (tur annual two-week frolic (No deadlines, hurrah! ), we would like to start this year by thanking them for their kindness and wishing you all the same....Happy new 1967 A.DI picutre - in the hope that whoever Owns the tool bOx might see it and claim it? RAY E. WARNER . 6640 Gardenia Ave. Long Beach. Calif. (-If this is your lost toolbox, contact Mr. Warner direct.") POLITICAL THREAT ANTICIPATED BUT NOW WE CAN WIN BLIND AND BAREFOOT With the convenlng of the 90th congress in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, the motorcycle industry is hracing itself for charges of selling dangerous merchandise similar to the complaints aime d by Congress at the car industry in 1966. U UKE TIlE AUTOMAKERS; heatings, however, the motorcycle men Clln be expected to face unlnformed investigators and prejudIced accusers if the threatened hearings are held in 1967. The plain truth is, there isn't now any definlte information on the motorc~cle' s role in traffic safety. That was the cardinal fact to emerlte from the leadIng " The literature and educatillnal prop"- ganda, with the exception of one safety film. that the industry has produced so far is of little value. Either the bro- chures say notbing and look pretty, or else they say something and spell it wrong. It beats a blank, but only barely. THE ROMANCE OF ADVERTISING Gentlemen of the motorcycle industry, I feel a duty to tell you, and remind myself, that e~ensive public relations is not always good, but good public relationsis always expensive. It is rumored, and Honda spokesmen do not deny, that before the "Honda Image" of nice people took root in the American mind, five million dollars was spent. Audlt took two years. How many years will it take a safetyCODscioosindustry to altertbat thinclad, hai...streaming-ln-the-wind image to i... clude protective clothing and attention to danger? Putting helm ets on the sweet young things without includIng shoes and some sort of eye shield for the operator, as Honda's current billboards testify, will not change the image. The helmets only seem out of place on the heads of the "nlce people-. And I am told it took one year's "lag time" to put the helmets on the billboards after Honda decided to do it. What is needed IIOW, I believe, is a cold assessment of tbe best answer, lo teons of dollar sales and potential retooling to tbe question some coDgreSltmen are sure to ask: 'That percentage of your net profit do you lovest in safety, Mr. Motorcycle Businessman? Weigh your answer before he asks. Don't let the question take you aback as it dld Detroit. Earmark a portion of your hudget for safety promotlon now. demonstrate such responsibility before the fact rather than after. You have assumed an unreasonably narrow view of this recommendation. The CBM considered the problem as it relates to the entire motoring public of which moto rcyclists are a part. I have met motorcyclists who were not financially responsible for their deliberate or negligent acts with their cycle. While I admit it is a rare occaSion, I can document the fact that motorcycles injure and kill pedestrians and cllllse property damage. Uninsured motorist coverage is useless to the victims of a motorcycle who are not ridIng it. F~t~er, Uninsured Motorist coverage is limlted to medlcal expenses only. I am very happy to hear that your motorcycles have no blind spots. However, mine and other road rider's machines did have blind spots before we incorporated the second mirror. (Shame on you for making such a flat statement.) My infonnation was that the footwear law was repeal ed for lack of enforcibility. ROBERT O. FEE Los Angeles (-On checking with local law enforcement agencies I find dlat there is at present 110 law regulating footwear for operatDrs of lIIOtDr vehicles. So I was wrong, kids. You can ride your motD... cycle barefoot ••• H you're that stupid.• And I tried and tried, but unless atDicted with a stiff neck I can still see 360 degrees from my motDrcycles, without using even one minor. The secret is, tum your head and look'") BAD NEWS Thank you for publishing the CBM recommendations and for your penetrating comments. You have erroneously equated compulsory insurance with the term Financial Responsi bility. While a commercial insurance policy is acceptable evidence of financial responsibility, the term financial responsibility under state law includes evidence of self insurance or bOnding. The CBM agrees that compulsory commercial insurance is undesi~ able and does not suggest any change of the term financial responsibility as it is now used in the law. We merely ask that the vehicle owner be required to Our last years President and also one of our better riders, Bill Boyd met with a nasty accident on Christmas day and had to have bis left leg ampUtated just above the left knee, he also fractured his thigh bone and hiP. The accident occured at Stinson Beach wbilst ridlng his motorcycle. This was a terrible shock to his wife Leslie and to his friends of which he has many in the A.F.M. I was wondering if in your next issue you might just put a short note wishing him a speedy recovery etc., and sign it S.F. ChaPter A.F.M. RON GRANT San Mateo ("We jom tbe rest of Bill's mends in wishing him well.") P LUG FO WL E R & F R lEN D 5__- -..........- - - - . ..--B---=Y:.--H_e_r_I1'I_B_n-, ... CI> :: a.. &; c> - ~ l:- .. ~ ~ ~ ~ :i!: ~ ...::I ~ U

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