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The
federal
government
Friday
will
unveil
a
broad
program
to
cut
motorcycle
death
rates
that
have
doubled
in
the
past
10
years
as
aging
baby
boomers
hit
the
open
road.
The
Department
of
Transportation's
initiative
includes
a
national
training
standard
for
beginning
riders
and
added
training
for
police
officers
who
enforce
traffic
laws.
"Our
nation's
greatest
traffic
highway
safety
challenge
is
motorcycle
fatalities,"
says
Transportation
Secretary
Mary
Peters,
noting
that
biking
deaths
are
rising
while
other
vehicle
fatalities
are
declining.
"We
have
a
significantly
disproportionate
representation
of
motorcycle
fatalities,"
Peters
says.
Motorcycles
represent
2.5%
of
all
registered
vehicles
but
11.3%
of
traffic
deaths.
Another
trend:
The
share
of
motorcyclists
ages
50
and
older
who
die
in
wrecks
has
grown
from
14%
to
24%
since
1997.
The
rising
toll
has
offset
life-saving
progress
state
and
federal
agencies
are
making
by
boosting
seat
belt
use,
cutting
alcohol-related
deaths
and
improving
vehicle
safety.
In
2005,
for
example,
the
motorcycle
fatality
rate
was
73
per
100,000
registered
motorcycles
compared
with
13.7
per
100,000
registered
passenger
vehicles,
the
DOT
says.
The
National
Highway
Traffic
Safety
Administration
long
has
said
that
helmet
use
is
a
critical
safety
component
for
motorcycle
riders;
45%
of
motorcycle
drivers
killed
in
traffic
crashes
were
not
wearing
helmets.
Helmet
laws
have
been
repealed
or
modified
in
many
states,
however,
and
the
DOT's
new
effort
does
not
call
for
new
helmet
laws.
Instead,
the
initiative
focuses
on:
•Training.
DOT
will
develop
national
standards
for
entry-level
motorcycle
riders
to
achieve
what
Peters
calls
"a
baseline
of
competency."
•Enforcement.
DOT
will
create
a
training
program
to
teach
police
officers
about
specific
efforts
to
reduce
crashes.
•Education.
Public
service
announcements
will
feature
Peters
on
the
importance
of
helmets
and
other
protective
gear.
A
"Share
the
Road"
campaign
will
remind
drivers
to
be
alert
for
motorcyclists.
Jeff
Hennie
of
the
Motorcycle
Riders
Foundation,
which
promotes
safety
through
rider
training,
says
he
applauds
the
push
for
training
standards
and
driver
education.
"It's
been
something
that's
been
needed
for
a
long
time,"
he
says.
Even
so,
Hennie
says
he's
not
sure
about
some
of
DOT's
other
initiatives.
"As
far
as
training
for
law
enforcement,
we
could
have
a
problem
with
that,"
he
says.
"Law
enforcement
enforces
what
they
see
fit.
If
this
is
just
giving
police
another
reason
to
pull
over
motorcyclists,
that
could
be
something
of
a
slippery
slope
for
us."
Peters
says
she
is
"emblematic
of
the
trend"
of
middle-age
people
flocking
to
motorcycles.
She
broke
her
collarbone
in
a
2005
motorcycle
accident
in
Arizona
and
keeps
the
dented
helmet
she
was
wearing
that
day
as
a
reminder.
"I
was
very,
very
fortunate,"
she
says.
"If
I
hadn't
had
my
helmet
on
that
day,
I'm
convinced
I
would
be
a
head-injury
patient."
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