TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Suncoast Pinellas News

Sport Motorcycles Linked To Soaring Number Of Deaths

News Channel 8 photo by RUGENE MOORE

Scottie Neal Ewing, 29, was on Interstate 275 North on August 30 when he lost control of his 2003 Honda motorcycle while traveling more than 100 mph on the Howard Frankland Bridge. He died from his injuries.

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 11, 2008

Updated: 01/11/2008 12:16 pm

PALM HARBOR - On Monday, Craig Hales' Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle hit a sport utility vehicle on U.S. 19 with such force that the impact caused the SUV to flip.

Hales, 22, who died in the fiery wreck along with the SUV's driver, could serve as the poster boy for a trend that shows no signs of abating.

So could Lawrence Kwiatkowski, 29, who was killed two days later when his Yamaha R1-1000 motorcycle struck a large pickup.

According to the latest official statistics available, motorcycle deaths in Florida are skyrocketing, from 164 in 1997 to 521 in 2006. Per capita, that represents a 100 percent increase.

Some of the Tampa Bay area's largest law enforcement agencies – the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and the Tampa and St. Petersburg police departments – saw more people killed in motorcycles wrecks in 2007 than they did in 2006, according to statistics released this week.

In Pinellas County alone, at least three other motorcyclists, in addition to Hales and Kwiatkowski, have died in the past month.

Neither state nor local agencies provide breakdowns as to what types of motorcycles were involved in those fatalities. But those on the type Hales and Kwiatkowski were riding have significantly higher death rates than those riding standard or cruise motorcycles, according to an analysis released in September by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The Kawasaki Ninja and the Yamaha R1-1000 are sport bikes, high-powered motorcycles where the rider leans over the gas tank. Often referred to as crotch rockets, they have significantly more horsepower and less weight than the cruising-style motorcycle made popular by Harley-Davidson, and they go much faster.

"The bikes are dangerous," said Lindsay Marino, whose 21-year-old boyfriend was killed in August when his Kawasaki sport motorcycle struck a guardrail on Interstate 275 in St. Petersburg. "To get your bike up to 80 is quick. If you fall, you just go flying. A rock in the road can just throw you off."

"After something like this happens," the 24-year-old elementary school teacher said, referring to the death of boyfriend Nick Kopplin, "it makes you more aware of both motorcycles and the people in the cars that stuff can happen in a matter of seconds."

Though local dealerships report a slight drop in motorcycle sales from 2006 through 2007 – they blame a stagnant economy – they say that is not typical of what has been happening the past decade. Motorcycles are increasingly popular, they say.

The IIHS reports an increase of more than 50 percent in motorcycle registrations from 2000 through 2005 nationwide.

At Kawasaki of St. Petersburg, the price for a sport motorcycle ranges from $3,000 to $11,700, and none that leaves the sales floor is supposed to go faster than 186 mph, in accordance with regulations, said Leon Beckner, part owner of the shop.

Typically, men younger than 30 – such as Hales, Kwiatkowski and Kopplin ride sport motorcycles. Often with an air of invincibility, they can be seen riding in small groups, popping wheelies on long stretches of highway or bridges or racing among themselves. Above all, they love speed.

High speed was cited by the Florida Highway Patrol as a factor in the deaths of Hales and Kwiatkowski, with Hales reportedly riding his Ninja at more than 100 mph when he struck the sport utility vehicle. Friends were told Kopplin was going 90 mph and that his helmet split on impact.

In the eyes of some, it is much too easy for young men to acquire the motorcycles and ride them on city streets and highways.

Francois Buder, a German who sells a specialized high-horsepower motorcycle, the European Streetfighter, from a shop in Pinellas Park, says there are fewer fatalities in his homeland than in the United States because there are more restrictions in Germany.

For instance, in Germany, a 21-year-old cannot operate a 1000 cc motorcycle before logging two years without a traffic citation on lower-horsepower bikes, Buder said. And no motorcyclist gets a license unless a certified instructor has witnessed him performing a variety of maneuvers, day and night, he said.

A friend of Buder's who works at a Pinellas motorcycle dealership told him of a sale where a young man, accompanied by a parent, walked in, demanded a 1000 cc motorcycle instead of the 600 cc recommended by a salesperson, and then fell off it when leaving the parking lot.

"They have no experience," Buder said. "They have no clue what's going on. "Compare Germany's level of oversight with Florida's."

In the Sunshine State, a person who is 21 or older only has to pass a written and skills test to get a motorcycle endorsement on their license, with no training required, said Ann Nucatola, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles. Only people younger than 21 must complete a Florida Rider Training Program, she said.

The requirements become a tad more stringent on July 1, when all drivers, regardless of age, who do not have a motorcycle endorsement will have to complete the training program to ride or register a motorcycle in their name.

Law enforcement agencies, however, say they come up against motorcyclists for whom laws and regulations don't mean much.

Both Hales and Kwiatkowski had histories of violating traffic laws. Hales was ticketed for speeding four times in the past five years, and at the time of his death his license had been suspended indefinitely, state records show.

Kwiatkowski also had been cited for speeding and for driving without a license, though his license was valid Wednesday night, state records show.

Bob Jones, one of St. Petersburg's two motorcycle officers, says he often comes across motorcyclists who have never had the required motorcycle endorsement.

People who ride responsibly take a hit when others don't.

"There are just riders out there who give them a bad name," said Justin Greene, assistant sales manager at Barney's Motorcycle & Marine, a Bay area motorcycle dealer since 1951.

Beckner, the Kawasaki dealership owner, agrees.

"There's a lot of kids in their 20s who drive them," he said. "There's a time and place to act like an idiot, and it's not U.S. 19 at 3 o'clock in the afternoon."

Reporter Mike Wells contributed to this report. Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT