It's not that they don't see you, it's cause were're old and riding a 650 or 1000 cc!
Tha lady crossed the centerline in front of me beacause I'm old and riding 1000 cc's???
Interesting article...
From Oregonlive.com...
Bikers get older, easy riding gets deadlier...
Safety - Boomers are driving a motorcycling trend with high fatality rates Monday, October 22, 2007EDWARD WALSH The Oregonian Staff
Geff Hinds remembers seeing the movie "Easy Rider" as a teenager in the 1970s and thinking, "Oh my, that's what I want to do."
Eventually, Hinds' dream of cruising the open roads faded, replaced by other youthful preoccupations. But, he said, "I told myself I'd take up motorcycling when I'm old."
His time arrived last March.
Hinds, a 53-year-old Web designer from Tacoma, now feels "old enough" to resume his boyhood fascination with motorcycling. So he's the proud new owner of a black Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic, and part of a wave of older bikers across the Northwest.
Fueled in part by baby boomers such as Hinds taking up -- or resuming -- motorcycling later in life, the sport is exploding in popularity. Accident data suggest it's also becoming more deadly.
Nationally, the number of registered motorcycles rose 61 percent from 1995 to 2005, from 3.8 million to 6.1 million. The number increased 83 percent in Oregon during the same period, from 59,468 to 108,958.
With more motorcycles on the road, it's not surprising there are more accidents and deaths involving bikers. But the fatality rate, as measured by deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles and per million vehicle miles traveled, has steadily climbed at the same time the overall motor vehicle fatality rate has fallen.
The number of motorcycle deaths nationally dropped during the mid-1990s, reaching a low of 2,116 in 1997. But the death toll has increased every year since then; there were a record 4,810 motorcycle deaths in 2006.
(Oregon's low was 18 motorcycle deaths in 1999. Last year, there were 43 motorcycle deaths in the state. Though the number of deaths has fluctuated from year to year, Oregon's motorcycle fatality rate has remained consistently below the national rate.)
There are no simple explanations for why the motorcycle death toll has continued to increase, but in a 2006 analysis of the accident data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said two trends are evident: Today's motorcyclists are older than in the past, and they are driving bigger, more powerful bikes.
In 1990, motorcyclists 50 and older accounted for 10 percent of all bike owners. By 2003, the 50-and-older crowd represented 25 percent of motorcycle owners. During the same time, the average age of motorcycle owners rose from 33 to just older than 40.
Michael Durbin has been in a good position to observe this gradual demographic shift. He owns Paradise Harley-Davidson in Tigard, where a large showroom is filled with gleaming models of the iconic American bike.
Durbin, who said sales have increased every year during the four years he has owned the dealership, said his typical customers range in age from 40 into their 60s. Some first-time buyers are fulfilling a lifelong dream.
"I've had people say, 'I wanted one all my life and I finally made my kid's last tuition payment,' " he said.
Most of the bikes in the showroom today are equipped with larger engines than earlier-generation models. Durbin said that during the past two years, Harley-Davidson increased the engine size on most of its models from 1,450 cubic centimeters to 1,584 cc.
And it is not just Harleys that have gotten burlier. According to data compiled by Motorcycle Industry Council, bikes with engines of at least 750 cc made up 40 percent of the U.S. market in 1990 but now account for more than three-quarters of the motorcycles on U.S. roads.
But Durbin and other veteran riders say they doubt that the size of the engines or the graying of the riders can fully explain the rising motorcycle death toll.
"It's the motorcyclist," said Steve Garets, a nationally recognized expert in motorcycle safety. "It is absolutely not the motorcycle."
Garets is the director of Team Oregon, a partnership between the Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon State University that provides motorcycle safety training in the state. Oregon motorcyclists younger than 21 are required to take Team Oregon's basic training course. Others who complete the course can receive a motorcycle endorsement on their driver's license without taking the Department of Motor Vehicles' motorcycle driving proficiency test.
"It's the boomers that are fueling this," Garets said of the growing popularity of motorcycling. He said the fastest growing segment of those getting into motorcycling is "the over-40 crowd. They're not new to driving a vehicle, but they are new to riding a motorcycle. People get into motorcycling and don't really understand the risks that go along with the rewards."
Troy Costales, administrator of ODOT'S Traffic Safety Division, said there are about three motorcycle fatalities in rural Oregon for every one in an urban setting. The No. 1 cause, he said, was excessive speed going into corners.
"First and foremost, it is riders killing themselves," he said.
Oregon is one of 20 states and the District of Columbia with mandatory helmet laws for all motorcycle riders. Most other states require helmets for riders younger than 18 or 21. Three states -- Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire -- do not have helmet laws.
But even a tough helmet law doesn't necessarily add safety. According to federal government statistics, between 2001 and 2004 the fatality rate, measured by deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles, was lower in Iowa and New Hampshire than it was in Oregon.
Hinds, the newly minted easy rider, was well-aware of the risks when he bought his 650-cc motorcycle. He took a three-day course on motorcycle safety and approached his first riding experiences with caution.
Now, he said, he is more comfortable cruising the back roads around his home at 50 or 60 mph.
"That's pure beauty," he said. "It's a real joy for me. It's still a minor extravagance, but it's well worth it. All of a sudden, I break out in a smile."
Edward Walsh: 503-294-4153; edwardwalsh@news.oregonian.com
*************
A little misguided in my opinion and I will be emailing the writer with my comments.
No rant, no raving...just some clear hard opinion!
Tha lady crossed the centerline in front of me beacause I'm old and riding 1000 cc's???
Interesting article...
From Oregonlive.com...
Bikers get older, easy riding gets deadlier...
Safety - Boomers are driving a motorcycling trend with high fatality rates Monday, October 22, 2007EDWARD WALSH The Oregonian Staff
Geff Hinds remembers seeing the movie "Easy Rider" as a teenager in the 1970s and thinking, "Oh my, that's what I want to do."
Eventually, Hinds' dream of cruising the open roads faded, replaced by other youthful preoccupations. But, he said, "I told myself I'd take up motorcycling when I'm old."
His time arrived last March.
Hinds, a 53-year-old Web designer from Tacoma, now feels "old enough" to resume his boyhood fascination with motorcycling. So he's the proud new owner of a black Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic, and part of a wave of older bikers across the Northwest.
Fueled in part by baby boomers such as Hinds taking up -- or resuming -- motorcycling later in life, the sport is exploding in popularity. Accident data suggest it's also becoming more deadly.
Nationally, the number of registered motorcycles rose 61 percent from 1995 to 2005, from 3.8 million to 6.1 million. The number increased 83 percent in Oregon during the same period, from 59,468 to 108,958.
With more motorcycles on the road, it's not surprising there are more accidents and deaths involving bikers. But the fatality rate, as measured by deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles and per million vehicle miles traveled, has steadily climbed at the same time the overall motor vehicle fatality rate has fallen.
The number of motorcycle deaths nationally dropped during the mid-1990s, reaching a low of 2,116 in 1997. But the death toll has increased every year since then; there were a record 4,810 motorcycle deaths in 2006.
(Oregon's low was 18 motorcycle deaths in 1999. Last year, there were 43 motorcycle deaths in the state. Though the number of deaths has fluctuated from year to year, Oregon's motorcycle fatality rate has remained consistently below the national rate.)
There are no simple explanations for why the motorcycle death toll has continued to increase, but in a 2006 analysis of the accident data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said two trends are evident: Today's motorcyclists are older than in the past, and they are driving bigger, more powerful bikes.
In 1990, motorcyclists 50 and older accounted for 10 percent of all bike owners. By 2003, the 50-and-older crowd represented 25 percent of motorcycle owners. During the same time, the average age of motorcycle owners rose from 33 to just older than 40.
Michael Durbin has been in a good position to observe this gradual demographic shift. He owns Paradise Harley-Davidson in Tigard, where a large showroom is filled with gleaming models of the iconic American bike.
Durbin, who said sales have increased every year during the four years he has owned the dealership, said his typical customers range in age from 40 into their 60s. Some first-time buyers are fulfilling a lifelong dream.
"I've had people say, 'I wanted one all my life and I finally made my kid's last tuition payment,' " he said.
Most of the bikes in the showroom today are equipped with larger engines than earlier-generation models. Durbin said that during the past two years, Harley-Davidson increased the engine size on most of its models from 1,450 cubic centimeters to 1,584 cc.
And it is not just Harleys that have gotten burlier. According to data compiled by Motorcycle Industry Council, bikes with engines of at least 750 cc made up 40 percent of the U.S. market in 1990 but now account for more than three-quarters of the motorcycles on U.S. roads.
But Durbin and other veteran riders say they doubt that the size of the engines or the graying of the riders can fully explain the rising motorcycle death toll.
"It's the motorcyclist," said Steve Garets, a nationally recognized expert in motorcycle safety. "It is absolutely not the motorcycle."
Garets is the director of Team Oregon, a partnership between the Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon State University that provides motorcycle safety training in the state. Oregon motorcyclists younger than 21 are required to take Team Oregon's basic training course. Others who complete the course can receive a motorcycle endorsement on their driver's license without taking the Department of Motor Vehicles' motorcycle driving proficiency test.
"It's the boomers that are fueling this," Garets said of the growing popularity of motorcycling. He said the fastest growing segment of those getting into motorcycling is "the over-40 crowd. They're not new to driving a vehicle, but they are new to riding a motorcycle. People get into motorcycling and don't really understand the risks that go along with the rewards."
Troy Costales, administrator of ODOT'S Traffic Safety Division, said there are about three motorcycle fatalities in rural Oregon for every one in an urban setting. The No. 1 cause, he said, was excessive speed going into corners.
"First and foremost, it is riders killing themselves," he said.
Oregon is one of 20 states and the District of Columbia with mandatory helmet laws for all motorcycle riders. Most other states require helmets for riders younger than 18 or 21. Three states -- Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire -- do not have helmet laws.
But even a tough helmet law doesn't necessarily add safety. According to federal government statistics, between 2001 and 2004 the fatality rate, measured by deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles, was lower in Iowa and New Hampshire than it was in Oregon.
Hinds, the newly minted easy rider, was well-aware of the risks when he bought his 650-cc motorcycle. He took a three-day course on motorcycle safety and approached his first riding experiences with caution.
Now, he said, he is more comfortable cruising the back roads around his home at 50 or 60 mph.
"That's pure beauty," he said. "It's a real joy for me. It's still a minor extravagance, but it's well worth it. All of a sudden, I break out in a smile."
Edward Walsh: 503-294-4153; edwardwalsh@news.oregonian.com
*************
A little misguided in my opinion and I will be emailing the writer with my comments.
No rant, no raving...just some clear hard opinion!
