A “dramatic. "decline jn

motorcycle ‘ fatalities. and.’ almost. ‘registered | ‘motorcycles. ins

Canada in ‘76 ‘than” there

injuriés is the result of better ‘training, better equipped -

motorcycles and more use of |

helmets, according to Bruce.

MacMillan, . ir ofthe’

Executive |

menting" “on: recent ‘figures ” from... Statistics - Canada showing 270 riders killed. in 1976 ‘compared: to 351 the - previous. year, e drop of 23 percent. 7

Rider’ ‘injuries were also down in. 4976, the latest year for. which figures are. available:. From. 9, 855 ‘in 1975,. injuries. sropped to. 9,055 in "76.

At.

The decline- is even more: dramatic when it is con-

Said’ MacMillan,

* sidered” ai there. - were :

410, -000.. “mor

were.in "75, up from 331,347 to 341,297. Expressed asa

_ percentage’. “of. registrations, “. deaths” and - injuries... were”, —_ lower. in -°76° than’: in-any -~

"previous year for which data -

-is recorded (see. graph). “It’s a heartening trend, ”

‘which I expect’ to: continue for three good: reasons:

from. the © motorcycle: in- dustry, set up the National ’ Motorcycle Safety Program. established training facilities for riders in all the major centres in Canada.

Deal with experience e Deal with Quality, id » Deal with a winning team

‘and

‘

Gordon import Autos Ltd. 10th & Alma, Vancouver

733-8105 —

4 ‘Dealer No. 5087

“s

“and one .

- Motorcycle “One, in i974, the ‘Canada . _ Safety. Council . with - help.

“Two, 's since “January: Ast, 975, all. motorcycles _ im-

‘ported into Canada: have -béen equipped so thatthe} ~~

lights - are’ “operating. all: the time the. ignition is on,

- making. riders more: visible, to ‘motorists... ¢

“Three, “nine 3 ok “40

“provinces ‘now have com-

pulsory helmet laws. While in general. restrictive MMIC strongly endorses helmet. use as an effective method of reducing deaths

ae =

"MacMillan cited British

we oppose — ‘legislation, -

and

statistics and a California study indicating by far the most likely candidates for accidents were.

In Britain,

- figures indicate riders in the

17-24 age group represented only 17 percent of all riders, yet accounted for 27 percent of injuries and deaths.

The :California study of 900 miotorcycle accidents found .that—more..than 50 percent of: the riders in- volved were between 16 and 23 ; 4

It also showed that 92 |. percent of the riders in

accidents had. no

_ Alignment & . Shock Special — ‘The Brake Doctor

Qpen Mon. thru Sat.

their services in order to serve you better. Now as well as having your brakes can do wheel alignments, wheel balancing, shock work plus steering and suspension repairs. Phone now and take advantage of this special offer.

‘. total package price $73 83.

(includes alignment & 4 shocks installed)

North Van Auto Brake

North Shore's Leading Brake Specialists 1175 West 15th, N. Van.

985-8705

ener one we

_ young, ~ inexperienced riders.

government |

professional

1970

1971.

1972 1973 1974 1975 1976

MOTORCYCLE FATALITIES expressed in percentage of 1,000 registrations.

or format training. They were eight self-taught or received in- structions from others, who were also self-taught.

MacMillan said the 65 training: centres in Canada

_were helping to make young ‘Canadians better riders and

make them aware of the potential dangers.

The key thrust of the

- California study, conducted ©

by the U.S. Department of Transportation, was that accidents were caused by

Your success car. Big, bold, beautiful!

ideafease LAKEVIEW PLYMOUTH CHRYSLER

(1975) to. 522.166]

“motorists who said they either did not see the

motorcycle rider or didn’t see the rider until it was too late.

MMIC has long endorsed’

the light-on approach and currently is involved in a Transport Canada campaign to encourage riders to make themselves and_ their motorcycles as conspicuous as possible.. ~*

Quebec. shoed the most dramatic (66 ercent) reduction in atalities

(CHRYSLER) LEASING SYSTEM

between 1975 and °76, going from 183 to 108. Even th ugh there were 20,000 re motorcycles registered | in 1977 than in 75, fatalities numbered only 123.

In Ontario, where figures for 1977 are also available, there were fewer fatalities in both 1976 (78) and 1977 (88)

than in 1975 (97), even though motorcycle registrations went from

77,302 to 82, 934 in those years.

Economy the key with RV’s LEASE ME

Stewart Marshall, president of the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association, says con- servation and economy are the keystones of RV living and the rest of the world is just now catching; up with the philosophy

that , has gel

a Gone ~ siderable comment” to the effect that RVs are “gas guzzlers”. This ‘is a totally unfair accusation, made only by those who do not un- derstand the nature of real conservation, Marshall contends.

The average RV load is three to five persons and if those same individuals were at home they could be consuming more energy than they would in their RV, depending of course on what they are doing and where they are. RVers learn that there is a limited amount of propane, water and battery power available and,

~ CONTINUED ON PAGE B11