Retiring from riding ? or not?

The total number of motorcycle rider fatalities in Australia has increased since 1997 (ATSB Monograph 12, 2002), despite a reduction in the number of riders killed aged 25 and under.  This trend of increased crash involvement by older riders is mirrored in fatality and injury data in a large number of Australian and overseas jurisdictions.  

A survey of motorcycle licence holders aged over 30 years (Haworth, Mulvihill and Symmons, 2002) asked whether they had ridden in the previous 12 months.  Overall, 53% of respondents had ridden in the last year.  Those licence holders who had ridden (?riders?) were asked to complete questions relating to riding history, current riding patterns, crash involvement and demographics.  Those licence holders who had not ridden in the last year (?non-riders?) were asked to complete a small number of questions relating to riding history, when they stopped riding and why and demographics.  

This paper describes the characteristics of non-riders and the reasons why they gave up riding.  Comparisons are then made with riders who continued to ride, those who had given up riding but have recently returned to riding and new riders.  The road safety implications of these results and potential countermeasures to the increasing motorcycle crash problem are then discussed.