JASON'S TOP 5 Facts about Female Motorcyclists- Women's Motorcycle Month

As Seen in Thunder Road Magazine

 

 

 July is Women's Motorcycle Month… or is it May? It depends on who you ask. Several years ago, a coalition of organizations including the Motorcycle Hall of Fame declared July to be Women's Motorcycle Month, but the movement never really caught on. In 2009, Harley Davidson decided that May should be Women's Motorcycle Month, and began planning events around the world to celebrate women riders. The problem is, May is already Motorcycle Awareness Month around the globe, and many advocacy groups and riding clubs believe that women motorcyclists should be acknowledged and celebrated during their own special time. And so here we are today, divided. 

 

Ultimately, having two different Women's Motorcycle Months is confusing, and has diluted the celebration of women riders. So, as part of our efforts to promote motorcycle awareness year-round, my team and I want to revive July as Women's Motorcycle Month, and acknowledge women riders everywhere. Here are some facts you may not have known about female motorcyclists.  

 

FACT: We sent our Marketing Director, Debbie Parinello, to take part in this year's International Female Ride Day (IFRD) on May 7, 2016, and it was an amazing event! This was the 10th International Female Ride Day, organized by well-known Canadian motorcycle enthusiast Vicki Gray, founder of Motoress.com. Gray established IFRD in order to bring together women riders around the world and encourage them to be role models for women in motorcycling, while at the same time promoting motorcycle awareness and safety. Female Motorcyclists from around the world took part in this great event. You can see our pictures at Facebook.com/TheMotorcycleLawyer, or at MotorcycleLawyerMichigan.com. 

 

FACT: Motorcycle ownership by women continues to climb. According to the latest Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) owners' survey, about 14% of motorcycle owners are now women. That might not seem like a huge number, but consider this: in 1998, only about 8% of motorcycle owners were women. That means ownership among female motorcyclists has almost doubled in less than twenty years! Younger women are buying motorcycles at an even higher rate than the so-called "baby boom" generation: Among "Gen-Y" owners (18-35), women make up almost 18% of motorcycle owners; in the "Gen-X" group (36-50), women account for about 17% of owners; and among the "Baby boomers" (51+), women make up 9% of motorcycle owners. If those numbers still seem low compared to what you're seeing on the roads, keep in mind that's the number of owners, not riders; in fact, women make up about a quarter (25%) of motorcyclists on the road today. 

 

FACT: Female riders tend to be safety-conscious. The MIC survey data shows that 60% or more of women motorcyclists took a certified motorcycle safety course, compared to only 42% of their male counterparts. In some states, the survey found that women make up 30% or more of the motorcycle safety student population. Women motorcyclists were also killed in crashes significantly less often than male riders, according to a survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), though it depends on which seat they were on at the time of the crash. Sadly, 8% of motorcycle drivers killed in 2014 were women, while the other 92% were men. However, women made up over 93% of motorcycle passengers killed in crashes in 2014. Overall, two-thirds (66%) of women killed in motorcycle crashes that year were women. Female riders are also more likely than male riders to wear a helmet: according to a study by Wayne State University, almost 60% of women observed riding motorcycles in Michigan wore helmets, compared to 55% of male riders. There are two important things to keep in mind when looking at these sobering statistics: first, there is no proven link between taking a motorcycle safety training course and avoiding or surviving a motorcycle crash. Second, male riders are statistically more likely to be injured or killed in a motorcycle crash because there are simply more of them; remember, 75% of motorcyclists are male.

 

FACT: Women want their bikes big and new. According to the MIC survey, 34% of women prefer cruisers over sport bikes (just 10% of women surveyed rode sport bikes). Women preferred buying new (57%) over used (43%). While the MIC survey doesn't give a reason for this preference, my assumption would be that women are buying new bikes because more and more manufacturers are designing motorcycles specifically for women. Generally speaking, women are shorter and lighter than men, so it would make sense for them to want a motorcycle designed to be more manageable (relatively) for their size. 

 

FACT: Nearly half (49%) of women motorcyclists are married, according to the MIC study, and 50% of women interviewed in a Harley-Davidson commissioned study by Kelton rate themselves "extremely satisfied" with their relationship. This could be because more than half (53%) of women riders surveyed for the Harley-Davidson study say their motorcycle is a "key source" of their happiness, and almost three-quarters (74%) believe their lives have improved since they started riding. What I hear from women riders over and over again is that they ride because it makes them happy; this is reflected in countless research studies and polls about women motorcyclists. This shouldn't be a surprise… Most of the male riders I have spoken to over the years say the same thing: riding a motorcycle makes us happy. 

 

Let's settle the debate once and for all: July is Women's Motorcycle Month, so take a minute to celebrate the women-riders in your life. While you're at it, take another minute to remind your family, friends, and co-workers to be motorcycle-aware, and to watch out for motorcyclists (female and male) when they drive. 

 

We want to hear from you: We are looking for stories and pictures of feisty female motorcyclists from across the country. Share your pictures and stories with us at Facebook.com/TheMotorcycleLawyer, or email them to reception@lawyerforlife.com. We'll read everything you send, and may even share your story (with your permission) on our blog or Facebook page. 

 

Source(s):

Motorcycle Industry Council survey  data for 2014: www.mic.org

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety survey data for 2014:  www.iihs.org

Wayne State University's helmet observation study data for 2013:  www.michigan.gov

Kelton study (commissioned by Harley-Davidson) survey data for 2013:  www.harley-davidson.com