" the number of motorcyclists 45 and older killed in crashes nearly quadrupled from 2001 to 2005"
--I've got money riding on the fact that this segment has also quadrupled since 2001.
"Crashes among this age group increased more than 60 percent during that time, compared with a 6 percent drop in the number of crashes for younger motorcycle riders."
--Really? So the largest growning segment of bike buyers also has the largest growing crash rate? Shocking.
"The aging of the motorcycling population in Michigan may be contributing to the increase in motorcycle fatalities,"
--Or there are FAR, FAR more new riders that can afford bikes than that of the 18-25 year old segment.
""As people age, their bodies become more fragile and their chances of dying as a result of a crash increase. This may well explain the increase in overall motorcycle fatalities that occurred in Michigan in 2005a 54 percent increase from the year before.""
--Wait, "This may well explain the increase"??? That isn't research or statistics, but half-assed guess work.
"In their study of motorcycle crash trends in Michigan since 2001, Kostyniuk and colleague Adam Nation found that the number of motorcycle crashes overall increased 9 percent, while motorcycle registrations have risen 33 percent (to more than 250,000) and licensed motorcyclists have increased 9 percent (to nearly 500,000)."
--Well, look at that, I'm right. a 33% increase in participants and only a 9% increase in crashes. Doesn't sound exactly earth shattering, now does it.
"According to the study, about half of all motorcycle crashes, for both younger and older riders, involve other vehicleswhose drivers are more likely to be at fault."
--So of the 9% increase, 60% was the fault of other drivers? So the increase is even less than stated.
"Overall, the UMTRI study found that motorcycles were involved in about 12 percent of all fatal vehicle crashes in 2005a 32 percent increase since 2001.
--so the segment grows by 33% and fatal crashes increase by 32%. Seems right. How much did this "in-depth" study cost?