Motorcycles: Ride smart Published July 6, 2012 By 341st Missile Wing safety MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- When Airmen think of two-wheeled, private motorized vehicles, motorcycles usually come to mind. While they can be a popular summer pastime, they are also a dangerous one, so Airmen are reminded to use proper Operational Risk Management before taking to the road on a motorcycle. The following motorcycle statistics were taken from the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety website at http://trafficsafety.org/safety/sharing/motorcycle/motor-facts/motor-injuries-fatalities: · Motorcycles are the most dangerous type of motor vehicles to drive. These vehicles are involved in fatal crashes at a rate of 35 per 100 million miles of travel, compared with a rate of 1.7 per 100 million miles of travel for passenger cars. · Motorcyclists were 35-times more likely than passenger-car occupants to die in a crash in 2006, per vehicle mile traveled, and eight-times more likely to be injured. · Although motorcycles account for only 2 percent of vehicles on the road, they make up more than 10 percent of all crashes. · Motorcycles accounted for nearly 3 percent of all registered motor vehicles and 0.4 percent of vehicle miles traveled in 2006. · Motorcycle fatalities have more than doubled in 10 years to 4,810 in 2006. Helmets saved the lives of 1,658 motorcyclists that year--and could have saved an additional 752 lives if all riders had worn helmets compliant with federal safety standards. · Some 104,000 motorcycles were involved in crashes in 2006, including property damage-only crashes. · Approximately 80 percent of motorcycle crashes injure or kill a motorcycle rider, while only 20 percent of passenger-car crashes injure or kill a driver or passenger in their vehicle. · In 2006, 37 percent of all motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes were speeding, compared to 23 percent for passenger-car drivers, 19 percent for light-truck drivers, and 8 percent for large-truck drivers. Prevention is always the best medicine. For more information, visit the following websites: http://www.ridesmartflorida.com/index.htm http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/ridesafe.pdf http://www.carinsurancelist.com/article-motorcycle-accident-stats.htm