Motorcycle deaths in the Americas more than tripled in the last two decades

Thursday, September 5th 2013 - 23:59 UTC

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Motorcycle deaths in the Americas more than tripled during the last two decades, according to a study by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) published in the International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion. Read full article

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Rufus
The moral of the story: Lids are handy, not just to muffle the engine noise, or to keep your head out of the wind but also to stop your brain splattering on the inside of your skull if you crash.
Sep 06th, 2013 - 07:45 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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GeoffWard2
Lids on, lids off, the kids in Brasil treat motorbikes the same as kids everywhere .. and do similarly stupid things, often to impress the girls.
But the motorbike is much more than that here; it is an affordable way of getting to work.

The problem is that the millions of bikes - registered and unregistered - do not know or accept the rules of the road. Neither do the other types of motorised vehicles or the donkey-carts.

Many 'sane' adults around where I have lived in Bahia prefer to ride their motorbikes AGAINST the oncoming traffic because they say they feel safer being able to see the dangers ahead.
The dangers frequently run right over them.

After 6 pm, getting home from work in the dark, the game of rush-hour dodgems frequently results in the exposed biker and passenger being the fatal losers. The winners are often the urubu.
Sep 06th, 2013 - 09:17 am - Link - Report abuse 0
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ChrisR
In Uruguay we have a document entitled Manual de Conducción, which I can categorically state is universally ignored by all indigenous road users. The document is in itself a hotch-podge of the various driving standards in seemingly every state in the USA, translated from American into Spanish.

I thought this would be mandatory but could find no Ley (Law) that related to it and then one of my friends who knows about the manual told me it was ASPIRATIONAL. That explained a lot.

I have already posted about the abysmal state of the cars in Uruguay, though that is steadily getting better. The motos (motorbikes) are even worse, if that were possible. I can see why Uruguay was left out, the government probably did not return the figures because they are so ashamed of them.

Seeing the 3 YO sitting in front of dad, two more children 6 to 9 YO sitting behind him followed by mom (who I have seen carrying a babe-in-arms) on a 90cc – 110cc “motorbike” is nothing unusual. Perhaps da is wearing “the” helmet that day but not many others will have one. If children have a helmet it will be the smallest adult size – lethal.

Alternatively, you see a “builder” carrying all sorts of gear hanging off the bars, strapped to the rear seat, etc. talking on his mobile as he goes to work.

Then we have the “children”. Indulgent parents treat little Johnny to a 110cc moto for his 15th birthday. No helmet, no insurance, no road tax (no plate) NO LICENCE to drive because the minimum age is 16 YO. I couldn’t believe that they would be so stupid as to risk their children like this, often with beat up second-hand rubbish. Then little Johnny cuts the exhaust off to make it go faster, which of course it does not, only louder. They have no comprehension about fuelling the engine properly (by increasing the jet sizes – no fuel injection on these things) and even less about the heat range of the plug suitable for this type of running. Maintenance is a mystery and they cannot afford to
Sep 06th, 2013 - 04:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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