Older Motorcycle Riders, More Motorcycle Accidents
Posted by
Randy WaltonDecember 10, 2007 6:52 PMThey say that 40 is the new 20, and 60 the new 40 (does that mean 50 is the new 30?), and now there is some discouraging evidence to prove it. Baby boomers are buying - and crashing - motorcycles in greater numbers.
According to trauma surgeon Thomas Velky of Escondido, hospitals around the country are treating a growing number of baby boomers for injuries related to motorcycle accidents.
Traditionally, motorcycle casualties mostly involved men barely out of high school, Velky said. But the demographics have been graying over the years. In 1997, for example, 19 percent of motorcyclists killed in the United States were ages 40 to 49. The figure had risen to 23 percent last year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For the 50-to-59 age group, the total was 10 percent in 1997 and 18 percent last year. In the 59-plus category, the figure was 4 percent in 1997 and 7 percent in 2006.
Locally, nearly half of all motorcycle accident victims treated at Palomar Medical Center in San Diego County in 2006 were over the age of 40, and this year 250 motorcycle crash patients seen at the hospital were over 40.
The statistics support the evidence. In 1985 the median age of a motorcycle owner was 27. By 2003 it was 41. The reasons for the rise in median age vary, and are attributed to the disposable income of boomers, and the social aspect of riding a motorcycle. Whatever the reason, it goes without saying that those who have breached the age of 40 are less able to handle the today's more powerful bikes, and less able to heal from serious injury.
Those of us in San Diego County don't need to be trauma surgeons to notice the trend. Every weekend we see the packs of "grey goatees" cruising up the freeway or down the coast on their shiny Harleys.
For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Motorcycle Accidents.