By CHANDRA BROADWATER, Times Staff Writer
Published January 31, 2008 [hr] ADVERTISEMENT [/align] [/align] Related links[/align] [ul][*]Less money, more motorcycle deaths[*]Safety tips for cars, motorcycles [/ul] [/align] [hr] document.write(apVideoHed); U.S. News Video [/align] [/align] [/align] PORT RICHEY -- Debbie Harrigan wishes she could have bought her son a car. A single mom, she never had the extra cash. So, 17-year-old Jon saved $1,300 and got a used motorcycle. For two months, the Ridgewood High senior rode his black and yellow Kawasaki to school and work. It got better gas mileage and didn't require insurance. Jon's ride came to fatal end Nov. 1 when a car collided with his motorcycle on U.S. 19. His death is part of a statewide surge in motorcycle fatalities and injuries, a trend experts say is fueled in part by affordability. "Economics," said Sgt. Jim Bordner, spokesman for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office who also worked for 12 years as a traffic homicide investigator. "If you look at what $10,000 or less will buy you vs. a car, and with about 20 to 30 miles more in gas mileage, and with gas balancing at $3 a gallon, the dollars and cents add up," Bordner said. Jon's mother believes his death was avoidable. "Motorcycles used to be a treat, a luxury," Harrigan said, staring at a picture of Jon on her kitchen table. "Now they're all some people can afford. I'm frustrated because my son shouldn't be where he is yet." People who have motorcycle accidents in Florida are six times more likely to die than automobile drivers. The number of registered motorcyclists statewide was 582,740 in 2006, compared with 339,488 in 2002. The number of fatalities also is rising steadily. In 2002, 274 people died in motorcycle crashes; by 2006, the number was 521, according to the most recent statistics from the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. In Hillsborough County, 37 people died in 2006. Pinellas had 24 deaths, Pasco had 13 and Hernando had four. Hillsborough had the third-highest number of motorcyclist fatalities in the state, compared with 44 in Broward County and 61 in Miami-Dade. Youth, inexperience and speed are usually factors in the accidents, but just as many crashes involve car drivers who are careless or don't see motorcyclists, law enforcement officials said. Jon Harrigan died when he and his 16-year-old girlfriend were on their way home from running errands. The crash left her with a broken leg. The driver of a car attempting to cross U.S. 19 hit the motorcycle, the Florida Highway Patrol says. She didn't see the bike. "People who ride motorcycles will tell you how evil car drivers are," said Bordner, of the Pinellas Sheriff's Office. "The opposite is true if you talk to people in cars. They complain about how fast motorcycles go. The reality is that the roadways are only as safe as the worst driver." While nationwide sales of motorcycles dropped slightly in 2007, managers at local dealerships say sales are holding their own, even in a sagging economy. People are trying to save gas and money, said Billy Bott, sales manager at WFO Kawasaki shop in Brooksville. Some of the bikes in the showroom get anywhere form 30 to 75 mpg. "You can come here and pay $3,600 for a new bike," Bott said. "And you don't have to have insurance in the state of Florida to ride a motorcycle." Along with the

 

yes is all the northeners moving down here messing the averages up

 

Welcome back HDattitude.

Now get lost troll.

 

Wow, since you're so awesome a providing this wonderful information maybe you can answer 2 questions for me.

First, why have there been so many trolls who say they're from Pensacola?

Second, what is a ULRA Classic. If you're gonna be a troll at least get some information in your profile right, you say you ride a ULRA Classic.

 

Couple things come to mind.
Don't know what a troll is but I hear about bike accidents and deaths nearly every day here in the Tampa area. Found the article to be a bit eye opening as the counties with the highest accident rates are not necessarily those with the oldest, or youngest, drivers (not riders).
Also interesting because there are a lot of people who choose to ride a bike (scooter even) for purely economic reasons.
Pensacola is home to a lot of Navy retirees, and a lot of other good people too I suspect. Probably has no more trolls than does Lake Placid.
Is it remotely possible that the "ULRA" Classic issue is as simple as a freaking typo?
Go back to decaf.

 

In Florida, the insurance business (like many other activities that are government controlled) is based on extortion and theft. When illegal and immoral acts aredone by the government, they aretypically called "looking after the consumers." That's why the farmers in Live Oak are paying the homeowners insurance for the rich in West Palm (aren't hurricanes nasty?). The same thing happens with vehicle and accident insurance. A friend who just retired from the business told me that she was careful to sell motorcycle policies toresponsible ridersand had very few accident claims in her whole career. She also noted that there was no pattern whatsoever to the accidents--they were truly accidents.

 

What'syour point TakeNoCrap?

 

That could be a topic unto itself. How 'bout the folks on their 2nd or 3rd hurricane bailout?
I bet midwesternerssubsidize ins. for coastal residents. Ah, don't get me started. Didn't mean to hijack.

 

Hmm, let's see. By the numbers in the article...

Motorcycle registrations went up by 58% from 2002 to 2006.

Motorcycle fatalitites went up by 52% from 2002 to 2006.

Looks like we dida pretty good job of lowering the per capita death rate of motorcyclists in Florida to me! That's great news!

I had to edit my percentage of deaths down from 56 to 52. Stupid hands...

 

that is what i saw