Biker deaths increase in Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says the same contributing factors that killed motorcyclists last year are killing them this year. Three bikers died on July Fourth alone.

In a news release today announcing rider deaths are occurring more frequently than last year, the DPS says motorcyclist’s error and failure to yield the right-of-way are often leading causes.

It also issued these crash facts:

Age: 46 percent of the motorcyclists killed were over the age of 50; 31 percent were under 30.

Deer: Two of the fatal crashes involved a collision with a deer, a common trend within the last decade. During 2002-2012, 43 motorcyclists have been killed in a crash with a deer.

Helmet Use: Of the 22 motorcyclists with helmet-use cited in crash reports, over half (15) were not wearing a helmet. Seven riders were wearing a helmet.

Contributing Factors: Nearly half of the crashes involved another vehicle. In the motorcycle-only crashes, failure to negotiate a curve was cited eight times.

Location: Over 60 percent of the crashes occurred in a rural area and over one-third in the 12-county metro area.

Coincidentally, the release comes the same day this video is making the rounds on the InterTubes, which appears to confirm that some things that might seem like a good idea while riding a motorcycle, really aren’t.