Older Motorcyclists Linked with More Serious Injuries

[randyo]

me thinks there's just more older riders riding more miles, no doubt, the older you are, the more likely yer gonna get hurt IF you crash.

I'll bet on a per mile basis, old folk don't crash anymore than anyone else, that statistic belongs to inexperienced riders regardless of age

[Aussijussi]

All of you old fart's out there, self included, don't fucking crash then!!

[easyrider88]

afew years ago i saw an older gent get off his harley d and grab a cane to go to his hotel room.im older now also but still love to be on 2 wheels.for people who look at statistics and say you old fuks need to stop riding before you get seriously hurt.well.try to stop breathing.

[ph0rk]

props to the OP for linking the study.

Originally Posted by dwoodward

Ladies and gentlemen, your tax dollars at work.

We need to bolster the general fund account and give research assistants something easy to keep them out of trouble... Quick- to the Obvious Hypothesis Generator!

You aren't coming off like you know what you're talking about with respect to research. If it is so easy, why don't you do better?

There is a real lack of research into motorcycle accident rates and motorcycle safety in general, so what's the complaint? (the references cited in the original article are pretty cool, though).

One interesting finding is that the number of injuries in the 40-59 and 60+ age groups has increased from 2001 to 2008. I think that is the more interesting finding here.

[PeterW]

Originally Posted by ph0rk

props to the OP for linking the study.



You aren't coming off like you know what you're talking about with respect to research. If it is so easy, why don't you do better?

There is a real lack of research into motorcycle accident rates and motorcycle safety in general, so what's the complaint? (the references cited in the original article are pretty cool, though).

One interesting finding is that the number of injuries in the 40-59 and 60+ age groups has increased from 2001 to 2008. I think that is the more interesting finding here.

The NUMBERS are probably right, but the detailed cause is the question. For example, if it were actually old guys with no helmets falling off a Harley on the way back from the bar - most of us could just ignore the 'risk' because it's just not applicable.

It could also be that the health insurance industry asked the medical providers for more accident detail in 2001. Same proportion of injuries, but formerly just logged as "broken leg" or "abrasions" - and of course the evil one - better cover if it's a vehicle accident than a fall at home.

Like the urban legend about UK stats for sporting deaths:
'Squash' featured fairly highly for a number of years - until someone investigated in detail and it turned out that most of the deaths had been due to completely different ball games (i.e. ones in the wrong persons bed) and that was the 'standard' way doctors were writing it up to avoid causing a lot of embarassment.

Pete

[waveydavey]

well, imagine that....

[blues]

Originally Posted by Klay

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21350883

I read that article the other day and thought it was a real eye opener. The results were much worse than I would have imagined. Basically young crashes pick up their bikes and ride home while us old dogs take up residence at the local hospital. It got my attention.

[reddirtjoe]

Anymore I just tell the DR. " I fell off my horse!"

Seems like alot less trouble/paperwork etc etc!

[rwf]

Originally Posted by Dan-M

Is this news? Sometimes I feel like I've suffered a serious injury by sleeping in the wrong position.

This

[AutoXer]

It's not just falling off motorcycles. Some study some years back found that injuries in car accidents also correlated to age. Our older bodies just can't take the abuse anymore ... :-(

jZ

[ianbh]

A few years ago, our 16-year-old grandson was run over by BOTH wheels of a Toyota van (hood surfing, stupidity of youth).

Lacerated liver, some rib fractures and a sore back. Youth, cartilage instead of calcification and muscular fitness certainly contributed to the relatively good outcome.

At my age (71), I'd have been like a bug on your windshield. Recent mild "step offs" leave me sore for at least a week. Ian, Iowa

[manfromthestix]

Originally Posted by Aussijussi

All of you old fart's out there, self included, don't fucking crash then!!

Yeah, you'd think we would all know better by now, eh?

Older Motorcyclists Linked with More Serious Injuries: Grandpa Spending More Time in the Emergency Room

I say good for us, umm, I mean Grandpa! I'd rather spend time recovering from some sort of mishap inflicted on myself than lying on the couch or hiding under my bed fearing one. Fuck that, I'm going out in a blaze of glory! WOOOOOT!!! I'm 55 and still bicycle (on and off-road), ride my motorcycles like a hoon, ski every chance I can, hunt, hike, kayak, cut my own firewood, drive a tractor with a 6-foot bush hog and not so much as a seat belt for safety, raise horses, and even occassionally ride my motorcycles on the Interstate at 80 mph dodging all those other Grandpa's in their battle cruiser cars.

In my experience, getting more beat up from a crash also might be related to the fact that today I ride an 1150cc Big Pig of a "dirt bike" that weighs 550 pounds dry and empty, has 100 HP, and can go 125 MPH. And that thing is a lightweight compared to some of the heavy metal I've owned! When I was younger I couldn't afford stuff like that so I rode a 250 pound gutless UJM. It hurts more when the pig rolls on me than it did when the UJM turned turtle. And yes, I used to bounce a little better too.

Doug

[Celtic Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Dan-M

Is this news? Sometimes I feel like I've suffered a serious injury by sleeping in the wrong position.

Reminds me of comedian Greg Berendt on being over 40: "I used to get sore from working out, now I get sore just from sleeping!"

[Ceri JC]

Generally speaking:
Older people are more likely to crash (statistically, after 55, the benefits of another year's experience are slight, whereas the typical deterioration in eyesight, hearing and reaction time are only going to increase)
Older people injure worse in a crash and recover more slowly.
Older people may be tempted to push harder (relative to their personal limits) as they have less to lose: If you're going to be dead in 5 years time anyway and your kids are grown up, why wouldn't you push harder than someone in their 40s with a young family?

No real 'news' here, so far as I'm concerned...