Va Motorcycle Fatalities up 80%
The Associated Press
Motorcycle fatalities skyrocketed last year in Virginia – up 80 percent from 2006.
Two people were killed in Southwest Virginia on Sunday in motorcycle crashes that occurred within hours of each other.
In Washington County, Joshua Smith, 21, of Raven, Va., died after losing control of his Yamaha motorcycle while rounding a curve on state Route 75 at about 2 p.m.
Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy said Smith crossed the center line and drove into the path of a pickup heading north.
About four hours earlier in Wythe County, Va., a 71-year-old man was killed after losing control of his motorcycle while heading south on Interstate 81. He ran off the side of the road near mile marker 59, Conroy said.
Motorcycle fatalities skyrocketed last year in Virginia – up 80 percent from 2006. And while the numbers this year are lower, Conroy said, motorcycle crash fatalities remain a serious concern.
“I don’t think we’ve seen as many this year, but this was not a good weekend for motorcycles,” Conroy said.
In 2007, there were 126 motorcycle fatalities throughout Virginia. Driver behavior – speed, ability and experience – contributed in some way to virtually every one, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
Conroy could not say what specific factors contributed to Sunday’s deaths because both are still under investigation, but he did note that speed was considered a factor in Smith’s crash and said the 21-year-old had obtained his motorcycle license about one month ago.
“We are seeing a lot more people riding motorcycles, and I think there are a variety of factors,” Conroy said. “More older people getting bikes, fuel prices going up – it’s a little bit of everything. But driver inexperience on the motorcycle plays a major role.”
Conroy emphasized the importance of motorcycle education classes as a preventive measure and said bikers should know their ability levels and avoid risks.
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Reader Reactions
I firmly agree with the factors listed by shakers. His experience in riding the roads shows in his disposition and words chosen. Truth is, the majority of motorcycle accidents(both fatal and non-fatal)are due in large part to lack of experience and education on the riders behalf. Every driver faces the hazards listed by shakers on a daily basis, but knowing what to do about them instinctively takes education and experience. If the Commonwealth of Virginia wanted to ensure that motorcycle operators were better prepared, they could stop allowing anyone 16-yrs or older to register a motorcycle, with or without an endorsement. Furthermore, part of obtaining your drivers license is drivers education, but with motorcycles an individual can take the written test and then take the closed course evaluation without ever setting foot on the actual road or being exposed to the types of hazards that motorcycle operators will acutally face everyday. The enforcement of proper licensure is also a joke, if a motorcycle operator is found to not have their endorsement what is the penalty? A fine? How about suspending thier drivers license if they don’t obtain the endorsement within a set period of time? Once an individual has been caught on a bike without an endorsement they have demonstrated their willingness to disregard the motorcycle operator’s requirements, so perhaps motivation is in the form of affecting something they do care about, their drivers license. Regardless if they want to operate a motorcycle again, at least they should have to take the course as a consequence of operating without the license. Some of us are just bikers through and through, but more young men and women are taking to the streets on the biggest and fastest bikes they can afford and terrorizing the city streets on a daily basis without proper experience or licensure. They are the majority of the stastics.
Not a whole lot of education or experience is going to help when a cage pulls out infront of you and says, “I didn’t see him. He came out of nowhere.“ We don’t just materialize out of nowhere. We were there. You just didn’t see us. Other factors inherent to motorcycle fatalities are - road debris, animals, oils, even highway markings are slick. And as one reader commented… “I sprayed them down with windshield washer fluid…“. That stuff is poison! And what you did should be considered “road rage”. Seek help. As for the rise in gas prices… if I were worried about gas prices, I’d have left the bike at home and walked to Shady Valley. We’re bikers and we like to ride. Like pilots fly and boat owners boat. And just like this report says, more and more of us are out there. Old and young alike.
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