NHTSA says hiway deaths decrease...
 

link here

There are a couple of interesting tidbits from the report.

So it is probably not "better driving" that is saving lives... more likely "better safety features." I wonder if the accident rate itself is going up?

And something that might relate to cyclists: Motorcycles are larger than bicycles... they should be easier to see.... older motorcycle riders should have a better understanding of the risks of the road (like older cyclists)... yet they are dying in larger numbers.

in the UK it's sometimes attributed to inexperienced older riders having slower reaction times and underestimating the power of the bike they're riding. Especially true of "born again bike riders" in the middle of some mid-whatever crisis.

Good point... the middle age crisis thing... where someone either takes on a mistress, a sports car, or some other "fast toy."

I think there are just more motorcycle riders. It seems to be a baby-boomer kinda in-thing right now to have either a Harley or a Goldwing.

...but only if you drive a volvo :D

Well that would be true if the "older" motorcyclists had been riding since their early 20's/late teens. These "older" victims are people that are taking up motorcycling for the first time later in life. Poorer eyesight, slower reflexes, ingrained bad traffic habits, less strength, slower minds all add up to more accidents. Most of their accidents are from out riding their abilities with bigger, more expensive bikes. Probably not that much relation to bicycling accidents at all.

Looks like 773 cyclists died in 2006 vs 786 in 2005 - a 1.7% reduction. Injuries dropped from 45,000 to 44,000, 2.2% lower.

These older guys go out and buy a huge Hardley-Ableson for their first bike and get themselves killed. Just what a first time, or a new again rider needs: a big, heavy, foul handling, under-braked P.O.S.

If you do deeper research you'll find that many motorcycle crashes are alchohol related, and many crashers have no licenses.

It amazes me though that the report says nothing about road user education. This have been proved time and time again to reduce crashes and deaths, yet all they talk about it more safety crap in cars and better road engineering. What about distractions, impatience, and ignorance? These obviously cause an enormous amount of problems, but we'll just not worry about that right now as the problem gets worse and worse...

Az

So let me get this straight. You don't like Harleys? It's a little unclear from your post. Next time try to write more clearly. :P

Az

Yeah I have long come to the conclusion that the motoring public and those that administer them have figured that they drive well enough. The problem is the "other guy."

So the latest policies seem to be: build the auto as a passenger protecting coccoon and don't worry about the skills of piloting it. This will eventually lead to autonomous self driving vehicles some time down the road... thus removing the last bit of any problem with the "ultimate machine;" the driver.

In the meantime, road engineers are doing all they can to make driving as uncomplicated as keeping a slot car on a track... just "stay between the lines."

Now this all makes me wonder if the number of collisions has increased proportional to the number of drivers... in spite of a decrease in deaths... which would show that the vehicle is doing the saving of lives, not the motorist nor enforcement.

In recent years, I have been seeing a larger number of crotch rocket type bikes. And about half the time I am seeing them doing some very stupid things, wheelies taking off at lights, tossing both legs to one side going at 70 mph, or most of the time they are just weaving in and out of traffic going 25 mph more then the flow. These people I just feel sad for.