Table 21: Motorcycle Operator Fatalities by Year and Operator BAC
Year	BAC 0.00		BAC 0.01-0.09		BAC 0.10+		BAC 0.01+		Total
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1999	1,401	62	231	10	644	28	875	38	2,276
From DOT HS 809-271 Technical Report: Recent Trends in Fatal Motorcycle Crashes, page 31

California Motorcycle Handbook 2002 says on the pages 33 and 34:

BEING IN SHAPE TO RIDE

Riding a motorcycle is a demanding and complex task. Skilled riders pay attention to the riding environment and to operating the motorcycle, identifying potential hazards, making good judgments, and executing decisions quickly and skillfully. Your ability to perform and respond to changing road and traffic conditions is influenced by how fit and alert you are. Alcohol and other drugs, more than any other factor, degrade your ability to think clearly and to ride safely. Even one drink can impair your performance.


ALCOHOL

Alcohol is a major contributor to motorcycle accidents, particularly fatal accidents. Drinking and drug use is as big a problem among motorcyclists as it is among automobile drivers. Motorcyclists, however, are more likely to be killed or severely injured in an accident.

Alcohol enters the bloodstream quickly. Unlike most foods and beverages, it does not need to be digested. Within minutes after being consumed, it reaches the brain and begins to affect the drinker. The major effect of alcohol is to slow down and impair bodily functions� both mental and physical. Whatever you do, you do less well after consuming alcohol.

Factors such as your sex, physical condition, and food intake contribute to the way alcohol affects your system. These are just a few of the things that can cause your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level to be even higher.

There are times when a larger person may not accumulate as high a BAC for each drink consumed because he or she has more blood and other bodily fluids than a smaller person. Whether or not you are legally intoxicated is not the real issue. Judgment and skills can be impaired well below the legal limit.


ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUGS

No one is immune to the effects of alcohol or drugs. Many over-the-counter, prescription, and illegal drugs have side effects that increase the risk of riding. It is difficult to accurately measure the involvement of particular drugs in motorcycle accidents. However, we do know what effects various drugs have on the process involved in riding a motorcycle. We also know that the combined effects of alcohol and other drugs are more dangerous than either is alone.

If you can afford not to drink before you ride, don't. Well, the previous sentence is an understatement. Don't drink before you ride. That's it. Nothing can be simpler than this. Don't drink before you ride. Got it?

The fact is in 1999, 875 fatally wounded motorcyclists were found to have had BAC (blood alcohol content) of 0.01 g/dl or greater.

Table H5-1: Reduction of Fatalities and Fatality Rate Based on DOT HS 809-271 Figures No Passenger; No Drinking
	Reduction in Fatalities	Fatalities	Fatality Rate: per 100,000 Registered Motorcycles	Percent Reduction from Factual
1999 (Factual)	N/A	2,472	59.53	N/A
No Passenger	196	2,276	54.81	-7.93%
No Drinking	875	1,401	33.74	-43.32%

Note: Fatality Rate is calculated using the following formula:

Fatality Rate = (Fatalities / 4,152,433) x 100,000
4,152,433 = The Number of Registered Motorcycles for the year 1999, as reported on the page 8 of DOT HS 809-271.