Minnesota Accident statistics

[Lomunchi]

Folks, I'm on the Minnesota Governor's Task Force on Motorcycle safety and I get crash/death statistics on an ongoing basis. Below is the very first report of the year for the end of March. (MN has a short riding season). Only 2 deaths so far, both issues with negotiating curves. Neither wearing helmets (not trying to start a fight on that topic, just the facts.)

People, keep your skills up!

2021 Rider Deaths Statistics

Helmet use
0 riders were wearing a helmet.
2 riders were not wearing a helmet.

Single-vehicle crashes vs. Multi-vehicle crashes
1 of the crashes involved only the motorcycle
1 of the crashes involved a motorcycle and another vehicle.

Three-wheeled motorcycle fatalities
0 of the fatalities involved a three-wheeled motorcycle.

Motorcycle vs. animal
0 crashes involved the rider colliding with an animal.

Passengers killed
0 passengers have died in a motorcycle crash.

Motorcycle License Endorsement
1 of the operators had a valid motorcycle license endorsement or permit.
1 of the operators did not have a valid motorcycle license endorsement or permit.

Negotiating a curve
2 of the crashes involved a rider negotiating a curve.

Rider deaths by age:
Under 20: -
20’s: -
30’s: -
40’s: 1
50’s: -
60’s: 1
70’s: -
80’s: -

Rural vs. urban area
1 of the crashes happened in a rural area.
1 of the crashes happened in an urban area.

I'll update this over the year (if anyone cares or bothers to read it).
Our best means of survival is often to study the mistakes of those that didn't!

 

[Janus]

Was it Minnesota that had a helmet law and repealed it? Or was that Michigan

 

[Lomunchi]

Was it Minnesota that had a helmet law and repealed it? Or was that Michigan

I'm not aware of MN ever having a helmet law. At least not in my 36 years of living here.

 

[Rabbit]

Was it Minnesota that had a helmet law and repealed it? Or was that Michigan

That would be Michigan. Though to their credit there are some provisions on it such as requiring 2 years of licensure and 20k worth of medical benefits available. I think the land of Ohio only requires 1 year of licensing to ditch the lid.

 

[melensdad]

Indiana has no helmet law but I'm an ATGATT guy so I don't much notice which state has which laws, restrictive or otherwise. I also don't really care how other people ride and I don't feel its my job to tell them how to live their life. If I took over as the ruler of the world I would work hard to leave people alone.

 

[Janus]

If I took over the world I would make everyone ride motorcycles. Sic semper motorcyclus

 

[dduelin]

A Safety Corner is a good idea. Those that ignore the mistakes of others lose a valuable resource. I can’t think of a profession that doesn’t examine missteps or mistakes of others in the profession in order to promote safety or better outcomes.

A common statement is that it is violation of right of way that kills most motorcyclists but it’s interesting that failure to negotiate a curve continues to rise year over year along with increasing age of operators. Are we losing skills with age or “never had them” catching up with older riders with access to fast heavy motorcycles?

 

[melensdad]

Are we losing skills with age or “never had them” catching up with older riders with access to fast heavy motorcycles?

I'd be curious about a couple more things.

At what frequency do people crash on OLDER motorcycles when they primarily ride a NEWER motorcycle? Or visa versa. I own a '67 Kaiser Jeepster and a couple modern Audis. Way different handling between those vehicles... brakes, suspension, steering, etc. Bikes are not much different. Many of us love our NCx bikes because of the easy maneuverability and handling.

• Do these riders who crash (not just the ones who die as I'd like info on all serious crashes) happen to have multiple bikes? Did they crash their 'primary' bike?
• Was alcohol consumed within the prior 2 hours?
• Was caffeine consumed within the prior 2 hours?
• Drugs in their systems?
• What type of bikes, is there a common pattern with bike types (cruiser vs superbike vs ...)?

Lots of questions pop up if you really want to get good data. Some questions questions may seem to make sense but prove to be pointless, other questions may seem pointless but end up showing a pattern.

 

[Floowid]

This is a great topic. And not in some morbid way like the TV shows my wife watches. I also wish there was a little more information, particularly mechanism of injury. This shows the 2 people who died were not wearing helmets, but was head injury why they died? For what it's worth I feel wearing a helmet is a personal choice, but making the choice not to wear one shows there is not much up there to protect anyway.

 

[Rabbit]

A Safety Corner is a good idea. Those that ignore the mistakes of others lose a valuable resource. I can’t think of a profession that doesn’t examine missteps or mistakes of others in the profession in order to promote safety or better outcomes.

A common statement is that it is violation of right of way that kills most motorcyclists but it’s interesting that failure to negotiate a curve continues to rise year over year along with increasing age of operators. Are we losing skills with age or “never had them” catching up with older riders with access to fast heavy motorcycles?

I think a lack of training has a lot to do with it. Many older riders starting back in on large cruisers they always wanted assume skills from 30 years ago will still serve them today. They fail to take appropriate steps to ensure they’re properly acclimated

 

[the Ferret]

Under skilled and over motorcycled is a bad combination, whether old or young. Accidents on curves are often caused by target panic. They think they wont make it and it becomes inevitable. Then they see a guard rail or a tree and head right for it.

Americans value their freedom so much they will gladly go without training, licensing or safety equipment to enjoy that freedom, often paying the ultimate price for it.

 

[Janus]

I think a lack of training has a lot to do with it. Many older riders starting back in on large cruisers they always wanted assume skills from 30 years ago will still serve them today. They fail to take appropriate steps to ensure they’re properly acclimated

One time I didn't ride for about three months and I felt like I had lost a fair amount of skills. I can't imagine not riding for 30 years.

 

[Janus]

Under skilled and over motorcycled is a bad combination, whether old or young. Accidents on curves are often caused by target panic. They think they wont make it and it becomes inevitable. Then they see a guard rail or a tree and head right for it.

Americans value their freedom so much they will gladly go without training, licensing or safety equipment to enjoy that freedom, often paying the ultimate price for it.

There is a tragicomic video of a young man in California going over a cliff. He basically just stops turning. He claimed the bike's steering "locked up" even though seconds earlier it worked just fine. He doesn't even seem to brake very much, he only scrubs about 20mph before zooping into the air. I think he fixated on a light pole and then the cliff's edge.

He went on talk shows and said how Awful & Dangerous motorcycles are. Very tragic end to the tale. I guess perpetually daydrunk TV hosts know a thing or two about dangerous lifestyles.

 

[the Ferret]

I was just off for a month due to a medical issue and my first day back riding I noticed I kept forgetting to cancel my turn signal. Weirdest thing.

 

[Rabbit]

There is a tragicomic video of a young man in California going over a cliff. He basically just stops turning. He claimed the bike's steering "locked up" even though seconds earlier it worked just fine. He doesn't even seem to brake very much, he only scrubs about 20mph before zooping into the air. I think he fixated on a light pole and then the cliff's edge.

He went on talk shows and said how Awful & Dangerous motorcycles are. Very tragic end to the tale. I guess perpetually daydrunk TV hosts know a thing or two about dangerous lifestyles.

What mechanism would cause the steering to lock up? The bearings would completely have to seize wouldn’t they? That also doesn’t explain why he doesn’t brake. If I’m off the road I’m braking as hard as the bike will let me.

 

[melensdad]

What mechanism would cause the steering to lock up? The bearings would completely have to seize wouldn’t they? That also doesn’t explain why he doesn’t brake. If I’m off the road I’m braking as hard as the bike will let me.

Very simple answer.

The human brain.

His brain caused him to lock up his steering. Likely a response to fear?

There was no mechanical problem with the bike.

 

[dduelin]

There is a tragicomic video of a young man in California going over a cliff. He basically just stops turning. He claimed the bike's steering "locked up" even though seconds earlier it worked just fine. He doesn't even seem to brake very much, he only scrubs about 20mph before zooping into the air. I think he fixated on a light pole and then the cliff's edge.

He went on talk shows and said how Awful & Dangerous motorcycles are. Very tragic end to the tale. I guess perpetually daydrunk TV hosts know a thing or two about dangerous lifestyles.

I believe that is a good example of target fixation. We have to have the ability to open up our vision and look where we want to go. He could have easily made that curve. Here is another one. The bike hits the barrier at almost no lean angle, he could easily have tightened up his line by pushing the inside grip. Warning - there is profanity in the audio.

 

[Rabbit]

Very simple answer.

The human brain.

His brain caused him to lock up his steering. Likely a response to fear?

There was no mechanical problem with the bike.

I figured that, I was looking more hypothetically. If the steering was to actually have locked up by what wildly improbable mechanism would that even happen?

 

[dduelin]

A great book on motorcycle riding that has almost no advice on how to ride a motorcycle is Bernt Speigel's The Upper Half Of The Motorcycle: The Unity Of Man And Machine. As a behavioral psychologist that happens to have a love for riding he explains how our brain allows us to master the art and skill of riding well.

 

[Janus]

I believe that is a good example of target fixation. We have to have the ability to open up our vision and look where we want to go. He could have easily made that curve. Here is another one. The bike hits the barrier at almost no lean angle, he could easily have tightened up his line by pushing the inside grip.

I'm not going to type the words out but I strongly identify with what the trucker said right after it happened

Target fixation is awful when it goes wrong. That's why I still tell myself to look where I wanna go, not where I don't!