Donor-cycles

[Crocuta]

From an article in the Seattle-PI:

The State Patrol has been cracking down on speeding motorcyclists. It has noted a dramatic increase in motorcycle fatalities, from 37 in 1994 to 82 last year.

So far, there have been 25 such fatalities this year. More than a third of those who die in such accidents are not properly licensed to ride.

So that means that two-thirds of people who die in high-speed motorcycle accidents are "properly licensed" riders, so that means that getting licensed to operate a motorcycle increases your chances of dying in a high speed motorcycle accident!  So if you don't want to die, don't get properly licensed!

Hey, that kind of logic works for statists.   

[mvpel]

Typical lying with statistics.

In 2006, there were 189,600 motorcycle registrations in Washington State.  In 1993, there were 96,539.  So the number of motorcycle registrations has about doubled, and the total number of fatalities has about doubled.

So there's no "dramatic increase" in the rate of fatalities, just a dramatic increase in the number of motorcycle riders.

But I guess an article about how motorcycle riders are pretty much as safe as they've always been wouldn't sell papers.

[Otosan]

As an aside, there have been 6 (or more) bikers killed so far the past 2 months here.  Of the 6 only one was not the bikers fault.  He was riding down the street, when a truck hits a power pole and either the pole or the guide wire  hits and kills the biker.
The others were caused by speed and alcohol.

[mvpel]

Out in California, early spring when all the new bikers in their color-coordinated leather suits and their 1500cc crotch rockets emerged was known as "Squid season."  Squid, you see, propel themselves over short distances with bursts of high speed.

A few months down the road it usually wasn't too hard to pick up a low-mileage crotch-rocket with a few scrapes on one side and a bit of body work needed for a nice discount.  My brother made some decent money doing that for a while.