Crashes, fatalities grow with motorcycle popularity

A couple of years ago, Joann Zehr retired and decided to revive a habit she'd left behind 30 years earlier.

Zehr resurrected her 1979 Honda 185 Twinstar motorcycle and started buzzing down Iowa's highways with her husband, Fred, with some of their newfound downtime.

Now that 2014 riding weather is here and they have a new bike - a Harley Davidson 2014 Heritage Classic - the couple has kicked off cruising season.

'It's just the wind in your face, and it's such a sense of freedom,” said Zehr, 62, of Cedar Rapids, who is a member of an all-women motorcycle organization called the Chrome Divas. 'Shifting gears is fun, and I like to make noise.”

The popularity of motorcycle riding has been steadily increasing and with it the number of crashes and deaths.

The Chrome Divas has grown in size each year since forming in 2007 and now has 54 women in the club, according to director Cindy 'Tizzy” Tisdale, 51, of Cedar Rapids.

'Part of it is people are seeing it's an activity that most people can afford,” said Tisdale, noting they've raised $82,000 for local charities. 'And there's nothing like a biker family. It's a separate family, really.”

Women and retirees, along with those who see motorcycles as more economical than cars, are some of the key groups fueling the increase, some officials say.

'I think primarily we are seeing folks using motorcycles to control fuel consumption costs, and also we are seeing people in the retirement age who may have had a motorcycle when they were younger, who want to try it out again as they hit retirement,” said Gail Weinholzer director of public affairs for AAA Minnesota/Iowa.

Rising interest

She said nationally, interest started increasing in the mid-to-late 1990s when gas prices soared past $3 a gallon, and then again in the late 2000s as the nation fell into a recession.

Iowa has seen a 45 percent increase in the number of registered motorcycles in the past 10 years, up from 127,700 in 2003 to 184,565 in 2013, according to data from the Office of Driver Services in the Iowa Department of Transportation.

But with more people thundering down the road on their two-wheelers, crashes, injuries and deaths have shot up.

Those reports are starting to surface again with the return of riding season, including a fatal crash on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids on April 26.

According to data from the driver services office, in the past five years, 2009-13, there's been 239 fatalities and 5,177 total crashes, compared with a five-year stretch a decade ago, 1999-2003, which saw 192 fatalities and 3,838 total crashes.

That's a 24 percent increase in fatalities and a 35 percent increase in crashes.

However, motorcycling hasn't necessarily become more dangerous.

In fact, the rate of fatalities and crashes as a proportion of registered motorcycles decreased in that same stretch of time, although the numbers fluctuate from year-to year typically based on the weather and length of the riding season.

For example, in Iowa there were 983 motorcycle crashes in 2013, including 41 fatalities. That was 122 more crashes than in 2003 but 10 fewer fatalities.

But in 2012, which had a long warm season and more crashes and deaths than either 2003 or 2013, Iowa saw 1,208 motorcycle crashes and 56 fatalities, including eight in Linn County. That year saw the most crashes and fourth most fatalities in a year since 1991.

Focusing on safety

Motorcycle advocacy groups like ABATE of Iowa - ABATE is an acronym for A Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education - love the increased interest but want to keep new and old riders safe.

Phil McCormick, state coordinator for ABATE, which is based in Eldora, said more than 40 percent of motorcycle fatalities involve people who do not hold a valid motorcycle endorsement.

'We push them to get trained and get their license,” McCormick said.

ABATE works with driver's education programs and businesses, such as trucking companies, to teach share the road seminars. Motorcyclists should make sure their own bikes are in proper condition, including checking tire pressure, and also watch out for drivers not paying attention, he said.

In Iowa, motorcycle classes are required for all drivers under the age of 18, and motorcycle licenses are required for any motorcycle driver, said Mary Ford, field manager of all the driver's license stations for the Iowa Department of Transportation. Penalties include a $200 fine, 30 day suspended license and spiked insurance rates for two years, she said.

ABATE, along with 13 community colleges and Bandy Motorcycle Training in North Liberty, offer the basic rider course levels one and two.

Kirkwood Community College offers motorcycle training at its Iowa City and Cedar Rapids campuses from April through October.

The course costs $199 and occurs in three sessions over a single weekend, said Kim Becicka, Kirkwood vice president of continuing education and training services. Enrollment in 2014 should beat 2013 when 500 students took the class, including 25 percent women, she said.

Successful completion gives students a waiver for the road portion of the state motorcycle driver's license test, she said.

When Zehr got back in the saddle, she decided to brush up on her skills through a training class. Each riding season, she hits low traffic roads to practice stopping and starting as well as to recalibrate her reflexes.

She also got louder pipes to help other vehicles hear her, and has three front lights to help with visibility. She understands there's risks, but thinks those can be minimized through smart choices.

'There's a certain amount of risk involved, just like anything,” Zehr said. 'You're not more likely to be in a crash, but you can be hurt more easily if you are in a crash. You have to constantly be watching traffic, watch way ahead at intersections. You have to be alert.”