Freedumb to scramble your brains brah. Helmets preclude such freedumbs.
Iowa's motorcycle fatality rate is 10 times the national average
- Thread starter cigaretteman
- Start date
The thing is it isn't just a Republican/Democrat factor.
We've had Culver and Vilsack during that time.
I live on a 55 mph secondary road. I often hear a pack of rice burners coming from 2 miles away at 70 -96 mph. Helmets won't make any difference if they bite it. This area has a big tree farm with many Kamikaze minded deer. It's only a matter of time. I've hit 2 deer myself ( thought not near my house ) that would have killed me if I was on my bike...
As someone that lives in a residential area, and bikers speed up to 70 mph for two blocks until the next stop sign, I fully support Darwinism.
I'm not necessarily for a helmet law, I just think someone is a moron for not wearing one while riding.
And no, wearing those brain bucket, faux German army helmet doesn't count. The only thing those protect you from is an acorn falling out of a tree when you're sitting under it.
Please elaborate.
The title of this thread and a line in the linked column from the ICPC both claim that Iowa's motorcycle fatality rate is 10 times higher than the national average. Following links in the OP, this claim appears to originate from a line in a press release from the Iowa Department of Public Safety that reads "The fatality rate for registered motorcycles in Iowa is 10 times higher than the national average."
The most recent year for which I can find statistics on motorcycle registrations is 2021. That year there were an estimated 9.89 million motorcycles registered in the United States. 193,950 of those motorcycles were registered in Iowa. That means that an estimated 1 out of every 51 registered motorcycles in the United States is registered in Iowa.
Nationally there is roughly 1 registered motorcycle for every 34 people. In Iowa there is roughly 1 registered motorcycle for every 17 people. Per capita motorcycle ownership in Iowa is approximately double the national average. And yet the per capita rate of fatalities is only slightly higher in Iowa.
1 out of every 104 motorcycle fatalities over the past five years occurred in Iowa. Approximately 1 out of every 59,672 Americans die each year in motorcycle accidents. Each year in Iowa there is approximately 1 motorcycle fatality for every 58,629 Iowa residents.
So despite per capita motorcycle ownership in Iowa being roughly twice the national average, per capita motorcycle fatalities in Iowa are only slightly higher than the national average.
But if you can somehow incorporate total number of motorcycle accidents and make this make sense, I'd be appreciative.
You're conflating the number of motorcyclists that die on a motorcycle within a state with the rate of motorcycle accidents that result in death. The total number of incidents is required to find the rate of mortality of said incidents.
So your claim, apparently, is that Iowa motorcycle riders are 20X less likely to be involved in an accident than the national average, but 10X more likely to die when they are involved in one?
I think it might be more realistic to just assume someone at the Iowa Department of Public Safety pulled a random number out of their ass and then the Iowa City Press-Citizen and most of the posters in this thread believed it.
I’ve seen my fair share of motorcycle accidents, a few fatalities. I think the state should focus on a helmet law for minors. I don’t believe that minors riding have to have a helmet even.
Well at least we are in the top 5 for organ donation. Karma has a way of working itself out.
I'm not making a claim, I'm trying to help you square the difference between your math and the stated figure you disagree with.
I survived an accident while wearing a helmet. I had a severe head injury that left me with epilepsy I've dealt with for life. But the impact that left the stain on that helmet would have decapitated me.
I wouldn't get close to a bike without strapping on a lid,
The number of registered motorcycles per capita in Iowa is roughly twice the national average. The number of motorcycle fatalities per capita in Iowa is just slightly higher than the national average.
In order for your not-a-claim that "the total number of incidents is required to find the rate of mortality of said incidents" to demonstrate that Iowa's ratio is 10X the national average, the number of total motorcycle accidents per registered motorcycle in Iowa would have to be roughly one-twentieth of the national average. That seems highly unlikely at best.
I'm still waiting for anyone in this thread to demonstrate any metric by which Iowa's motorcycle fatality rate is 10X the national average. Or even reasonably close to 10X.
It never gets old seeing the usual posters disagree with me out of habit or muscle memory. Or just for yucks or whatever their motive, and then watching the frustration in their posts as they start to realize "Goddamn it, he's right again" before they resign themselves to personal insults.
There is not one single metric by which Iowa's motorcycle fatality rate is even close to 10X higher than the national average. It's an absurd and indefensible claim. I may be strange, but I'm right. And I'll take that combo every day of the week.
Enjoy your Friday, Gene.
I’m perfectly fine. Have you come up with an explanation for the 10X figure that isn’t patently absurd? Because it’s beginning to seem like it’s going to be a really long wait.
Why do you believe registered motorcycles per capita in Iowa or registered motorcycles per capita in the nation is relevant? Why do you believe the fatalities per number of residents in Iowa is relevant?
The claim is that Iowa's fatality rate for registered motorcycles is 10 times the national average . The story doesn't make it clear what the rate is, but a simple Google search will reveal that organization who made the claim cites their fatalities based on per million miles or in some cases 100 million miles.
Numerator: Fatalities of registered motorcyles over a given time period
Denominator: Miles travelled over a given time period
You'd need that for both Iowa and nation wide.
Or you can just claim to be right.
I was in crash, wearing a helmet and spent a week in the hospital with a severe concussion. Never would have made it without the helmet.
We know that the national average is about one motorcycle fatality per year per every 1762 registered motorcycles. The average in Iowa is about one motorcycle fatality per year per every 3592 registered motorcycles. Iowa’s fatality rate per registered motorcycle is less than half the national average.
That means that in order for your theory to be true - that Iowa’s fatality rate per total miles ridden is 10X higher than the national average - it would also have to be true that for every mile Iowans ride their motorcycles, the rest of the country rides theirs 20 miles.
Does that sound believable to you?
Here’s another way to look at it. We know there are an average of approximately 54 motorcycle fatalities per year in Iowa. If we are to believe that figure is 10X higher than the national average, by whatever equation you’re using, then we have to accept that anything more than five (5) motorcycle fatalities per year would put Iowa above the national average.
A 10-year-old child could tell you that’s utter nonsense.
And yet not one of you guys has been able to prove me wrong in this thread.
hawkeyetraveler
HR Heisman
Biden voter checking in. Based on a cursory review of the data I think you are most likely right. I find no evidence that Iowa’s fatality rate is 10x the national average.
Having said that, the data is also quite clear that helmets are a life saving device. People should wear them.
That’s absolutely true. I always wear a helmet when I ride.
I appreciate your effort, but I think it's mostly wasted.
One motorcycle fatality per year per number of registered motorcycles? Neat, but not all that relevant.
54 motorcycle fatalities per year in Iowa? Neat, but not relevant.
And I'm not the one with the theory, I'm not the one spiking the football about being weird and right. I'm not the one pulling stats and rates that are not what the actual claim was.
I decided to take 5 minutes to identify what the underlying rate is in the claim, as opposed to the mishmash of figures that you've triumphantly presented. And again, I'm not making the claim, I'm not betting my life on its accuracy, I will have no problem accepting that the rate was erroneous for some reason.
That said, I would expect Iowa's motorcycle fatality rate to be a lot higher than the national average. Helmets being the biggest and most obvious reason - but I don't know the quantitative impact. I suspect Iowa also has a higher rate of alcohol/drug influenced driving than the national average which would also increase motorcycle incidents - but again I don't know the quantitative impact. I also would expect Iowa's motorcyclists to average far fewer miles than motorcyclists elsewhere due to the weather - but again I don't know quantitative impact on the rate.
So I think logically, the expectation should be that Iowa's motorcycle fatality is higher than the national average. Is it as much as 10x? I don't know, perhaps the organization made an error, but I also don't think you've made some epic takedown.
Based on your methodology what is the true figure? It's not 10x, you've made that clear. Is it 5x? 0.5x? Equal? Make it so a 10 year old could understand.
Why would I do that? I was simply pointing out where some of your, what now seems rather obsessive, confusion about the number may come from. Also, you're being a f@cking dick.
Was that the name of the facility you were referring too?
I can’t believe how many of you are crying that Iowa doesn’t have a helmet law. WGAF
If someone is dumb enough to not wear a helmet while they are out on a bike, how does that affect you?
At least with the seat belt law, you have tons of children involved by which having a law in place makes it much easier to enforcer for a parent.
I can’t believe we allow elderly and people with special needs to be out and about everyday without a helmet on. They could just as easily trip and fall and have a major head injury. I demand that law be put in place!
If someone is dumb enough to not wear a helmet while they are out on a bike, how does that affect you?
At least with the seat belt law, you have tons of children involved by which having a law in place makes it much easier to enforcer for a parent.
I can’t believe we allow elderly and people with special needs to be out and about everyday without a helmet on. They could just as easily trip and fall and have a major head injury. I demand that law be put in place!
No he's not. He's presenting evidence & logic, to which you called him a 'strange man' for drilling down on the numbers. That's bullshit. This whole world would be a better place if every post cigaretteman made got fact-checked in similar fashion.
I feel like there are 2 types of motorcycle riders. Old dudes that mostly cruise and young idiots.
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