Details about this story

• Source: Orlando Sentinel
• Date: April 29, 2007
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Henry Pierson Curtis , Katy Moore
• Topics: Safety , Transportation
• Data Types: State Data
• Description/Excerpt: preliminary figures of motorcycling deaths in Florida's largest urban areas last year show that sport bikers account for a little more than half of the fatalities. The other half come from the growing number of aging "renaissance riders" who take to the road on their cruisers, often without proper training. And contrary to the notion that careless automobile drivers cause most accidents involving motorcycles, last year's deadly crashes were caused by the bikers themselves more than two-thirds of the time. The state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will release comprehensive statewide data in June, but the Sentinel was able to review the data from Central Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Palm Beach and Tampa. An analysis of the 119 fatal crashes investigated by FHP in those areas shows: 64 of the dead were sport-bike riders; 55 rode some other form of motorcycle. Eight in 10 riders who died did not have insurance. 70 percent were at fault. 41 percent were not wearing helmets; Florida has no mandatory helmet law for riders older than 21. A quarter of them did not have a license to drive a motorcycle in Florida.
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