Older, but new, riders face dangers

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Chef Jean-Pierre Maharibatcha wanted a motorcycle all his life. Last year, at age 49, he finally got one.

Marion Leong of Honolulu (she's older than 40) attends a motorcycle safety class at Leeward Community College. The average age of motoryclists taking safety courses in Hawai'i is about 42, up from between 28 and 32 in the 1980s. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

The purchase puts Maharibatcha in one of the fastest-growing groups of vehicle buyers in the country: men and women older than 40 who are buying a motorcycle for the first time.

"It seems like there's a million people out there ready to discover motorcycling," says Michelle Opiteck, sales manager at Cycle City on Nimitz Highway.

"Why not? A motorcycle is a great way to relax," Maharibatcha said. "Sometimes between my lunch and dinner work, I jump on the motorcycle and ride out to the North Shore just to unwind."

While the move to motorcycles shows no signs of slowing down, officials are warning new bikers of some hidden dangers, including an alarming rise in the number of injuries and deaths among older motorcyclists here and on the Mainland.

Last year, nearly 30 percent of all motorcycle fatalities in Hawai'i involved motorcyclists at least 40 years old. Nationwide, the same age group accounts for nearly 40 percent of all motorcycle fatalities and a 50 percent increase in deaths from 1999 to 2000, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"A lot of older riders simply aren't prepared mentally or physically to handle the powerful new bikes they buy," said Morgan Keene, coordinator for the University of Hawai'i motorcycle education program. "It's different if you've been riding all your life, but often the new riders don't have the muscles, reflexes, eyesight, and hearing to handle a big bike safely."

Last year, the typical buyer of a new motorcycle nationwide was a 42-year-old male with a median income of $67,000, according to the marketing research company J.D. Power and Associates. In the 1980s the average age of those taking a motorcycle safety course in Hawai'i was between 28 and 32. This year the average runs closer to 42.

Researchers say the phenomenon of older riders is occurring not only in the United States but in Asia, Europe and elsewhere. London police have developed a new acronym for them: BAMBI, or born-again middle-aged bikers.

Students practice the correct way of riding in a safety class at Leeward Community College. An increasing number of those 40 and older are taking up motorcycling for the first time in their lives. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

"Sometimes they are very successful people who have a hard time admitting they no longer have the physical skills for a big bike," Rose said. "They come in asking for the biggest, fastest bike, and there's always a potential for catastrophe there."

"While they are more mature and tend to be less reckless, oftentimes older riders have diminished reflex capacity," added Keene, who has seen riders as old as 84 signing up for her courses only to drop out after a few hours in the sun.

Keene and Rose said dealers try to steer first-time buyers to a motorcycle that's appropriate to their physical skills, but anyone with a license and insurance can purchase any bike they choose and get on the road without any further safety training.

That's contributing to an increasing toll on America's roads:

• Last year, six of the 17 people killed in motorcycle accidents in Hawai'i were older than 40. So far this year, there have been 14 motorcycle fatalities across the state; four of them, or 28 percent, involved older riders. Officials say they don't know how many of them were first-time riders.
• Nationwide, the average age of bikers killed rose from 29.3 in 1990 to 36.5 in 1999. In 2000 the death rate for those 49 and older surpassed that of people younger than 20.
• Almost two-thirds of the motorcycle fatalities last year were riders in the 40-and-older age group riding motorcycles in the 1,001-to-1,500-cc engine size. Keene recommends that first-time riders start with motorcycles half that size.

Officials in Hawai'i are trying to fight the trends with increased education, and there are some indications that it's paying off.

Keene oversees a program that offers nearly 160 motorcycle safety classes reaching more than 3,000 riders across the state each year. This summer there was a backlog of new riders waiting to take one of the 24-hour courses. Rose said the Hawai'i Motorcycle Dealers Association hopes to start its own safety courses by next year.

"You pay $150 for the course and you get $1 million worth of knowledge," said Carl Torres, who bought a new Harley-Davidson centennial edition bike last month to help celebrate his 50th birthday.

Torres, a city worker who has been riding for years, said even longtime motorcyclists can benefit from taking the safety course.

"Like a lot of guys my age, I learned to ride on my own. I learned by my mistakes," which included a collision with a car that broke his leg, Torres said. "When I took the safety course, I found out I had a lot of bad habits. Now, I'm handling the bike better than before. It's one of life's lessons: If you do things correctly, you'll enjoy them more."

Military bases on O'ahu, which also have seen an increase in older riders, have all started mandatory training classes for all their motorcyclists.

"If you want to ride, you go through the course. There's no choice," said Dan Martyniuk, the traffic safety officer at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i in Kane'ohe. "It used to be we had mostly younger riders, but now I see a lot more senior non-commissioned officers taking up motorcycling as they prepare to retire."

The older riders include father-and-son and husband-and-wife teams, he said.

The base has been particularly successful in cutting casualties, in part because of the strong support from its former commanding officer, Gen. Ralph Parker, who himself took up motorcycling just before retirement and saw the potential danger for older riders firsthand, Martyniuk said.

"He really pushed hard for safety and training programs," Martyniuk said. "We haven't had a fatality in more than two years."

Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.