Motorcycle deaths drop, but experts worried

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** HOLD FOR RELEASE at 12:01 A.M. on TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2011, AND THEREAFTER ** FILE - In this March 25, 2010, file photo, a wrecked motorcycle lies at the the scene of a multi-motorcycle and trash truck accident on the Carefree Highway in Phoenix, Ariz. Three people riding motorcycles were killed and six others critically injured when several bikes were struck by a truck hauling garbage on the Carefree Highway in north Phoenix. Motorcycle deaths dropped 2 percent in the first 9 months of last year, but the report by state transportation officials may signal just a blip, not a lasting improvement in safety. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Updated: April 21, 2011 11:55AM

Motorcycle deaths dropped 2 percent in the first nine months of last year, but the report by state transportation officials may signal just a blip, not a lasting improvement in safety.

There were 80 fewer motorcycle deaths from January through September of 2010 than in the same time frame the previous year, said the report, scheduled for release Tuesday by the Governors Highway Safety Association.

But fatalities had started to climb back up during the last three of those nine months. And that has safety advocates worried.

“The drop is all in the front half of the year,” said report author Jim Hedlund, a safety consultant. “It looks very much as if we’ve hit bottom and may be starting back up again.”

Fatalities were down 25 percent during the first three months of last year, and still down 1 percent in next three months after that. Then they went up 3 percent in the third quarter of the year, the report said.

Annual motorcycle fatalities have more than doubled since the late 1990s, peaking in 2008 at 5,312 deaths. But they plunged 16 percent in 2009 as the economy tanked. What caused the drop is a matter of debate.

Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the safety group that issued the report, said recreational motorcycle riding appears to have declined while the recession was at its worst, and that may explain why the number of deaths went down.

Now that the economy is showing signs of recovery, Adkins said he’s concerned a rebound in recreational riding will lead to more deaths.

But Jeff Hennie, vice president of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, disagrees. He said the economy — especially the recent rise in gas prices — appears to have increased, not decreased, motorcycle use.

“If I have a choice between driving a pickup or my motorcycle, I’m taking the motorcycle that gets 50 miles per gallon,” Hennie said. “It’s not sport, it’s transportation.”

A related data trend is also worrisome. The number of motorcyclists wearing federally-approved, impact-absorbing helmets dropped 13 percent in the first nine months of 2010. At the same time, motorcyclists wearing so called “novelty” helmets — which are lightweight and offer little protection — rose 9 percent.

Twenty states require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets, but only 13 states specify that the helmets must meet federal standards, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.