Conventional wisdom holds that motorcycles are relatively dangerous,
but I would like a more precise, quantitative answer to this question.
I'm looking for comparisons using whatever metrics are standard in
the field, e.g., numbers of accidents/deaths per mile driven, perhaps
separately for drivers of different ages/experience levels.
If it is available, I'd also be interested in statistics on likelihood
of a vehicle being involved in a fatality. E.g., at
www.goldwing-world.com/Personal_Stories.htm (bottom of page) I found
this:
Number of motorcycles in the U.S. - 4,000,000
Accidental deaths/year - 2,000
Accidental deaths per bike - 0.0005
But there was no source for the statistics and no comparison with
cars. (And actually, the stat looks suspicious--are 1 in 2000
motorcycles really involved in fatalities each year? Pretty bad odds
if so. Also, the guy's comparison to doctors involved in fatalities
is obviously specious.)
Finally, if the statistics are inconclusive I'd be interested in
studies that speak to the question. For example, at
http://www.ixion.org.uk/faq/dangerous.html I saw reference to a study
showing that police motorcyclists have fewer accidents per mile than
police car drivers. Again, no citation but potentially interesting. |
