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It is not my style to attack or embarrass people personally when I present my views; however, this approach seems to have given the wrong impression that I am attacking ALL of you. You are DEAD WRONG (in a positive way)!

I still don't want to embarrass anybody individually, so I'm not going to say who, but there's one person who is the prime example of the kind of riders with "ill-founded confidence," false-sense of securities, false-sense of superiority, etc., the kind of mentality I've been talking about so that you and I will be in an agreement about what I mean by this kind of mentality.

This person recently made a remark that young riders are the cause of the increase in motorcycle insurance premiums. Actually, I think this person IS one of the group which is the cause of the increase in motorcycle insurance premiums. (I don't even know if the insurance premiums are on the rise. Mine dropped this year.)

Read the following:

Most of the increases in fatalities between 1997 and 1999 were among older riders (40 and over) and larger displacement (over 1000 cubic centimeters) motorcycles.

In fact, the 40 and older groups were the only age categories that recorded an increase in fatality rates between 1990 and 1999 based on 100,000 resident populations. The age and sales statistics mirror trends in Motorcycle Industry Council sales figures and U.S. Census Bureau data.

Assessing fatal crashes, in 1990, the average age of a motorcyclist killed was 29.3 and the average motorcycle engine size was 769 c.c. In 1999, the average age of a motorcyclist killed was 36.5 and the average engine size was 922 c.c.

The average age of a motorcycle owner was 26.9 in 1980 and 38.1 in 1998.

(For full article, visit:
http://www.womanmotorist.com/motorcycles/features/nhtsa-motorcycle-fatalities-report-2001.shtml)

          And:

Kawasaki's own motorcycle owners' surveys show that in 1996 women purchasers of 600cc-and-under Kawasaki street motorcycles accounted for 11 percent of the total sold in that category. In 1997 the percentage climbed to 18 percent, while in 1998 it reached an attention-getting 32 percent.

In the cruiser market, the numbers are even more impressive. During the first quarter of 1999, women accounted for 45 percent of Kawasaki cruiser-style motorcycle purchases in the 600cc and under category. During that same period, women made up eight percent of the purchases for all sizes of cruisers, up from six percent in 1998.

(For full article, visit:
http://www.motocicliste.net/news/WomenRidersMarket.asp)

Why do younger riders have to subsidize the insurance cost of riders in other age/sex groups?

I have no recent data on injury rate. Perhaps, younger riders' injury rate has gone up. That should be the only possible justification for the insurance premium rise for the younger riders.

It's beyond me....




Julian