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| 3 September, 2010 - USA: The Safest Cities To Ride In | Allstate Insurance company has compiled a report on which cities have the least accidents, and which have the most.
No surprises there, big cities have more per driver, small cities have less.
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| 31 August, 2010 - License Plate Blockers: LAPD Finds Them Useless | The LAPD went out and field tested photo blocking spray and license covers, to see how effective they really are in avoiding tickets.
Their test results show that the products used on cars and motorcycles, aren't that effective.
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| 24 August, 2010 - France: Shocking Motorcycle Mortality 2009 | Deadly accidents in France during 2009 for motorcycle riders saw a dramatic increase, up 11.1%. A reason for the Minister of Interior to target all motorcycle riders in France with police actions.
But what they fail to mention, is that over the last 4 years, France recorded an increase of some 40% in motorcycles on the road, so on per-biker basis, mortality has gone down. And most accidents are caused by cars, not motorcycles.
But do they listen..... no!
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| 9 July, 2010 - France: Road Mortality Rate Getting Better & Better | The French Ministry of Transportation published the safety figures of last month, and for the first 6 months of 2010.
Woow. Less and less people are being killed on the roads in France, even motorcycle riders.
So why all the new radars?
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| 5 July, 2010 - The Netherlands: People Willing To Pay Not To Be In Traffic Jams | The Dutch are debating a new way of taxing you on the road. The politicians are looking at a "pay-as-you-go" tax, i.o.w., you pay for each kilometer on the road.
But a market research done by Goodyear, shows that the Dutch to not want to pay a tax scheme like this, but are willing to pay more money in order to avoid to having to drive in traffic james.
But then why not just ride a motorcycle? No traffic jams and it's much more fun...
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| 28 June, 2010 - The Netherlands: The Real Cost Of The TT of Assen MotoGP | The cost of attending the Dutch MotoGP, the TT of Assen, just went up for a few thousand motorcycle riders....
Despite the strong sunshine, speed tickets were raining over the three days. One got clocked at 220+ kph!
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| 21 June, 2010 - Paris: Motorcycles Are Problem #1 | The Paris police have released the 2009 mortality stats of the French capital city, and almost half of them are motorcycles.
But is that the whole story, or are the authorities hiding the real truth?
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| 14 June, 2010 - France: Declining Road Mortality In May 2010 | The road deaths for the month of May 2010 has dropped significantly, as have the first 5 months of the year.
Is this the result of strict driving rules, or is it that people take out their car or motorcycle less since it has become very expensive?
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| 5 May, 2010 - Spain: Motorcycle Sales Increasing - Scrappage Working | Despite rumors of financial doom and gloom in Spain, last month saw a healthy increase in the number of motorcycles sold; 18% over last year.
But the Spanish motorcycle association wants to government to extend the scrappage scheme...
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| 30 April, 2010 - Europe: TomTom’s List Of Most Congested Cities | TomTom, the Dutch GPS manufacturer, has been recording anonymous user data, and with that data, has compiled a list of Top 60 cities in Europe and their traffic jams.
With a Congestion Level indicator, you can now see how long extra a trip on your motorcycle (or car) will take you.
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| 23 April, 2010 - USA: 2009 Motorcycle Deaths Down! No Explanation | There has been a noticeable drop in road deaths by motorcycle riders in the USA for 2009.
Authorities are scratching their collective heads, trying to figure out what they did right.
... but we know why.... read our explanation.
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| 5 March, 2010 - Ossa Motorcycles Doing Well. Enduro Motorcycle In The Works | The legendary Spanish motorcycle manufacturer risen from the ashes, OSSA, is doing well. Their first new trial model introduced last year will be produced in 1250 units, next year that will leap to 3000.
More importantly, they are going to introduce a new enduro motorcycle at this year's EICMA exhibition.
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| 2 February, 2010 - India: When Things Go Good, They Go Great | Sales of motorcycles, scooters and other PTWs are still doing extremely well in India. EXTREMELY WELL!
Three manufacturers reported January 2010 sales, none of them reported less that 20% increase in sales, some reported 100+% and 266+%.
Incredible!
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| 15 January, 2010 - France: New Motorcycles Sales 2009 Down | The new motorcycle & scooters sales for 2009 in France, at a first glance look pretty bad. Down 15.8%, but that's because they don't take the MP3 into account, since it has three wheels.
Piaggio have been selling the MP3 like hot-cakes (or hot croissants) in France, and if you take them into account, sales "only" fell 10%.
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| 13 January, 2010 - UK: 2009 Motorcycles Sales Down The Crapper | The 2009 motorcycles sales statistics for the UK have been published.
Guess what??? They're bad news, but then you already knew that. But they're not as bad as you thought.
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| 16 December, 2009 - UK: Naked Is Good | The only motorcycle category that saw an increase in sales last November in the UK, were Naked motorcycles. The rest is down the toilet.
The only brand that made a major jump in sales was .... BUELL. Dealers were trying to off-load their inventory after Harley closed down the brand, giving away major discounts.
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| 30 November, 2009 - Japan: Motorcycle Exports At Record Low | The motorcycle sales and manufacturer statistics have been released from Japan, and things are not good. Not good at all.
Japan has taken enormous hits, and October 2009 is down 54.6% compared to last year...
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| 27 November, 2009 - Europe: 27% Decline In Motorcycles Sales In 1 Year | ACEM report sales/revenue figures for the motorcycle and scooter industry in Europe for the period SEP2008 to SEP2009; a drop of 27%!!!
By year end, Europe will have reached sales figures recorded 16 years ago... a drop of 25%!
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| 19 November, 2009 - Suzuki India Doubles Motorcycle Production Capacity | Suzuki India have announced that they are doubling their motorcycle and scooter production capacity. End of the year, will see 300,000 units made yearly.
By March, they will reach 25,000 units per month. Not bad.
Looks like they are getting the reverse effect of the economic downturn.
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| 3 November, 2009 - BMW Motorcycles Sales In A Slump | BMW motorcycles aren't doing that good at this moment. 3Q2009 saw a 8.4% drop in motorcycles sales, the 9 months saw a drop of 13.7% and revenue has taken a sharp hit as well.
Bummer.
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| 2 November, 2009 - India: Motorcycle Sales At Record Highs | Sales of motorcycles in India are doing very well, in fact, they are doing excellent.
Bajaj, amongst others, announced an increase of 51% of their motorcycle sales in October over last year October.
But how will the big boys & girls from abroad do in India? Ducati's prices will be incredibly high. You are going to be paying US$38,500 for a Streetfighter... God only knows how much people will have to pay for a Harley motorcycle.
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| 30 September, 2009 - France: Motorcycle Study - Then and Now | A study report has been published about the motorcycle world in France. Compared to a similar study made in 2004, you can see some evolution.
Here are the salient facts of this year's research on the motorcycle world in France.
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| 9 September, 2009 - Netherlands: Bad 1st 6 Months Of Motorcycle Sales | The first six months of vehicles sales statistics on The Netherlands have been published, and it doesn't look good (either).
Though motorcycles have fared better than cars, 15 vs 28% down, it's still looking bleak...
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| 28 August, 2009 - UK: Study Shows Savvy Commuters Use Motorcycles | UK motorcycle industry association (MCI) shows in a study that savvy commuters use motorcycles for transportation, not cars or bicycles.
So, it's time the government took note!
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| 21 July, 2009 - Europe’s Top Bad Tire Offenders | Michelin tires company has checked 50,000 cars and motorcycles in 27 countries for tire pressure, and here is what they found.
You want to take a guess which countries are the worst offenders?
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| 17 July, 2009 - Cambodia: Motorcycles 2nd Highest Killing Rate | Pretty incredible! Riding motorcycles in Cambodia has the 2nd highest mortality rate, just after passing away from AIDS.
So having sex and riding motorcycle is going to be the most lethal activity you can do..
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| 9 July, 2009 - UK: June Motorcycles Sales - Gloomy | The UK based motorcycle industry association have published the June 2009 sales statistics for the UK.
Not good, really not good. A lot less motorcycles and scooters sold.... bummer.
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| 8 June, 2009 - Europe: Motorcycle Statistics 2007/2008 | ACEM, the European Motorcycle Manufacturer Association, have recently published their 2008 Yearbook, full of interesting statistics and facts about the European motorcycle industry.
Number of motorcycle made, sold, and in use, cost of ownership, etc.
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| 19 May, 2009 - One Week, 600,000 Speeding Tickets | The European Traffic Police organization, TISPOL, went on a speeding rampage in April. In the space of one week, they caught 600,000 people speeding in cars or on motorcycles.
That's almost 100,000 per week!!!
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| 11 May, 2009 - Motorcycle Riders Have A Soft Heart | According to a survey run by Progressive Insurance Company, we bikers are not as tough as we pretend to be.
We are more romantic than non-motorcycle riders. We cry when our heart gets broken, or a child is born.
Grab your paper hankies, and read on...
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| 23 April, 2009 - European Motorcycle Accidents Report (MAIDS) 2nd Edition Available | The European Motorcycle Manufacturer Association have released the 2nd edition of their excellent accident report; MAIDS (Motorcycle Accident In-Depth Study).
The 179 page report is full of data, reasons, locations, and importantly why an accident occurs. You'll be surprised to see what you learn when reading this report.
One of the MOST interesting statistics in this report: WHICH COLOR MOTORCYCLE IS MORE LIKELY TO GO DOWN! Want to guess which one it is........
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| 8 April, 2009 - 2007 Motorcycle Market Revenue Around The World | Here are some interesting statistics on motorcycle revenue in different countries and continents for 2007, their growth rate between 2003 and 2007 and how much new cars brought in during the same time.
Some countries have a lot of money tied up in motorcycles....
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| 2 April, 2009 - France: Most Stolen Motorcycles 2008 | There has been a reduction in stolen motorcycles in France during 2008.
In the top 10 of stolen motorcycles and scooters, better not have a Yamaha, since you stand a good chance of not finding your motorcycle...
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| 1 April, 2009 - France: 17.15 Million Speed Radar Photos During 2008 | Speed radars are jackpots for governments. In France, during 2008, 17,150,000 speed photos were made (for 65,000,000 inhabitants), generating €550,000,000 in revenues.
Talk about a great ROI!
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| 31 March, 2009 - USA: Motorcycle Thefts Down | The number of motorcycles stolen in the USA for 2008 had a noticeable drop over 2007 and even more over 2006.
Having a Japanese motorcycle or a Harley-Davidson puts you in a higher risk. Living in California, Florida, Texas, North Carolina or Indiana as well.
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| 26 February, 2009 - France: The 2008 +125cc Motorcycle Market Share | The 2008 market of motorcycles over 125cc looked pretty good, specially in the first half.
Here's what the market share per manufacturer looked like. The Japanese motorcycle gained the vast majority of the market (67+%).
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| 12 February, 2009 - France: January 2009 Was A Very Safe Month | France saw a dramatic drop in road deaths during the month of January 2009....
Duh! Extreme cold weather, snow, ice and sleet doesn't really get you to go out and ride your motorcycle does it?
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| 30 January, 2009 - UK: Despite Crisis, Royal Enfield Outsells | Royal Enfield, a former British motorcycle manufacturer, but now an Indian, has had a record sales year.
In a moment of gloom, with companies closing down, it's really nice to hear one company selling 30% (yes THIRTY) more motorcycles last year!
And that for a motorcycle that has not changed its design since 50 years.
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| 16 January, 2009 - France: 2008 Good Year For Road Mortality Rate | The statistics are in regarding the number of people who have died on the French roads last year.
At least this is one figure that makes people happy when it goes down, and it did. Again, for the 7th year.
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| 24 November, 2008 - Motorcycles Riders Can Not Get It Up? | According to a scientific study performed in Japan, between 45 and 70% of motorcycle riders who ride for three hours have a erectile dysfunction.
According to the scientists, this is caused by the motorcycle vibrations. Does this mean that male Harley riders do not have any children?
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| 2 October, 2008 - UK: Traffic Fatalities 2007 - Speeding Not To Blame | The UK Department of Transport have published their traffic casualties report for 2007.
Almost all categories are decreasing, even motorcycles. But speed is not an issue, with only 3% of fatalities tied to speeding.
So why all those cameras??
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| 22 September, 2008 - Despite Clampdowns, 100K Speeders Per Day In Europe | The second time that the combined Police forces in Europe went after motorcycle and car speeders during one whole week. The 1st time was in April, and not much has changed.
800,000 speeders were caught during the week, representing over 100,000 speeders per day !
And guess what... half of them where in France!
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| 10 September, 2008 - Survey Results on Sons Of Anarchy | The results are out of the mini survey we conducted on the motorcycle gang TV series "Sons of Anarchy".
This is what 7100+ people thought of the new series.
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| 28 August, 2008 - 100K Road Deaths Per year? In One Country? | Yes... you read that right! 100,000 motorcycle and car deaths per year.
All in one country... India. It's a world record! And if there are 100,000 deaths, there must be millions of injuries!
Holy cow!
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| 30 July, 2008 - Study: Riding Your Motorcycle Dangerous For Your Children | According to some Doctor, riding a motorcycle for more than 3,000 miles per year, and wearing tight leathers, will not only prevent you from getting children, but could also give you sexual performance issues.
So it looks like you've got to make a choice.... sex or motorcycles, motorcycles or leathers, leather or sex...
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| 25 July, 2008 - US Scooter Sales Up 65% 1st Half 2008 | Guess what? Sales of scooters (and motorcycles) are through the roof!
In the US alone, during the 1st half of 2008 sales of scooters was up 65.7%!!
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| 22 July, 2008 - France: Road Kill On A Dramatic Increase | Road kill is on the increase in France. Currently, reports have reached the 25,000 accidents between motorcycles (and other vehicles) and animals.
Wild boars represent 46% of the accidents. These small tanks are not scared of anything, and will charge a biker.
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| 16 July, 2008 - Allstate Survey Of American Motorcycle Riders | American insurance company, Allstate, did a survey amongst motorcycle riders in the USA.
Not much surprise in the results, apart that the majority would leave their spouse if they had to choose....
Needless to say the survey was anonymous...
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| 15 July, 2008 - Florida State Getting Fashion Conscious | The Florida State Highway officials have launched a campaign called "Ride Proud, Ride Loud", and they're not talking about loud pipes...
The State Police think that by telling motorcycle riders in their sunny state to wear bright colors, to paint their motorcycles brights colors and to put on extra lights, that the fatalities will go done.
Personally, I think the only thing that will make you visible on the road as a motorcycle is a bright and blue flashing strobe light!
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| 10 July, 2008 - SafeRider Motorcycle Survey - Europeans Only | SafeRider is an European effort, sponsored by FEMA, to develop technology that will enhance the safety of motorcycle riders.
They are looking for your opinion. Tell them what you think is important for our safety.
And don't say no one values your opinion....
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| 30 June, 2008 - US Highways Motorcycle Survey | Fellow MBI motorcycle blogger, Cecilie Hoffman  , points out that the US Federal Highway Administration's Motorcycle Council is doing a large scale survey amongst motorcycle riders. They would like to know if their roads are motorcycle friendly.
So take a few minutes and do the survey...
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| 19 June, 2008 - Search Patterns On The Net Show It All | Search patterns/keywords on the internet are gathered by a variety of sources and analyzed.
It's very interesting to see that motorcycles are creeping towards the top spots in the automotive category.
You'd think people are getting interested by motorcycles...
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| 18 June, 2008 - France: 2007 Official Traffic Accident Statistics | The official statistics for road fatalities in France during 2007 have been published.
Overall, a net reduction, EXCEPT for, you guessed it... motorcycles. We're a race menaced with extinction...
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| 9 June, 2008 - Europe: 21-27 Apr 2008: 100,000 Speeding Tickets/Day | Between 21 and 27 April 2008, in 20 European countries, the local Police force clamped down on speeding. An average of 100,000 speeding tickets were issued during those days, PER DAY!
Here's what the statistics show. And for a change, France is not the worst...
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| 2 June, 2008 - Help This Lady With A Motorcycle Questionnaire | This is a general cry for help from a young lady studying for her MBA in Ireland (she's Greek though).
She's writing her thesis, and has a few questions for bikers who buy European off-road motorcycles (BMW, KTM).
So why not answer her questions....
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| 29 May, 2008 - France: Middle Of The Road - Traffic Mortality-wise | France is no longer the bad boy of Europe with regards to fatal road accidents.
They're middle of the road (no pun intended). Here's what was happening during 2006 in Europe.....
You make your own conclusions..
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| 26 May, 2008 - Motorcycles Ranked 2 In Terms Of Recalls | Motorcycle recalls ranked 2nd only after toys. That shows you how many problems there are in the manufacturing of motorcycles.
OK, most of the recalls are for mini-motorcycles or off-road bikes, but still....
The EU have a website with all recent motorcycle recalls. It's searchable.
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| 18 April, 2008 - France: Motorcycle Sales Progressing | The first three months of new motorcycle registrations in France has been very good compared to 2007.
A progression of 8% over the same period last year. Kawasaki and Triumph both have had spectacular increases.
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| 10 April, 2008 - Petrol Tax Around The World. What You Pay! | Oil is really not that expensive at this moment, it's the taxes that are killing us.
Here's a table showing you what countries around the world are paying in taxes at the pump.
So... Americans... stop bitching about your gas price.... you're the very lowest!!
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| 18 January, 2008 - French 2007 Motorcycle Market Is Doing Well | The motorcycle sales for France during 2007 has been very, very good.
For the last 5 years progression has been remarkable, thanks mostly to the 125 cc law.
Despite many attempts to curb motorcycles by the French government, sales are skyrocketing. Good!
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| 11 January, 2008 - France 2007 Road Death Statistics | The 2007 road fatalities statistics have been released for France.
2% less deadly accidents, and a 40% improvement over 5 years.
Still they continue installing speed radars like breeding bunny rabbits...
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| 3 January, 2008 - France: 2008 Will Be Tough | During 2007, France saw a record number of speeding fines.
The summer months saw 1.8 million tickets alone. 1,000 more jackpots radars are being installed, and the number of mobile radars are being dramatically increased.
It's no longer about saving lives, it's about money....
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| 22 November, 2007 - Continued Growth In Worldwide Motorcycle Market | According to a study by Bharat organization, motorcycle sales will continue to rise 5.4%, reaching a whopping 55.7 MILLION motorcycles by 2011.
To think a few of those will be mine.... |
| 4 July, 2007 - Statistics: UK: Road Fatalities 2006 | The road fatalities statistics for the UK during 2006 have been released. Interesting reading!
Did you know it's more dangerous being a pedestrian than a motorcycle rider ? |
| 4 June, 2007 - Motorcycles Pollute/Do Not Pollute More Than Cars | Report on motorcycle pollution have always been written with a lot of bias, usually by people with obvious interests.
In Paris, France, the environment agency, ADEME, have produced a real, unbiased, report. They looked at pollution in real life, not on a test bench.
Surprise! Motorcycle pollute less than cars!
But we all knew that...
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| 3 April, 2007 - GPS Is Safer Than No GPS | Dutch technical research organization, TNO, have published a detailed research performed on drivers of cars with and without a GPS system.
Their conclusions aren't earth shattering, but interesting nevertheless.
In essence, if you drive around with a GPS, you have 12% less chance of having an accident.If you have 2 GPSs, would you therefore have 24% less chance of an accident ?
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| 28 March, 2007 - Motorcycles Safer Than Horses | A study in the UK has shown that is far safer to ride a motorcycle than that it is to ride a horse. In fact, it's 21 times safer !
So stop riding your horse, and switch to your motorcycle ! |
| 8 January, 2007 - 2006 Statistics: The Gadgets | | A closer look at the your search patterns for 2006 with regards to the gadgets and accessories. Bluetooth lives ! |
| 4 January, 2007 - Year 2006 Statistics | | A look at the 2006 statistics of this site. We've doubled in size over the year, but so have the spammers. |
| 13 December, 2006 - Motorcycle Accidents and the USA | | A look at the 2005 road/traffic accident statistics of the USA. Lots of motorcycle riders died, many with frontal accidents, often by cars turning left ! Also, more older bikers are buying the farm. Bad news. |
| 4 July, 2006 - Does Your Personality Change On Your Motorcycle ? | Does your personality change when you ride your motorcycle ? That's a question Thomas at Unicornadventurers asked in his blog. I know I do, but what about you ?
Take this one question survey. Results will be published in August. |
| 29 June, 2006 - Vespa/Piaggio and the USA | | Found an interesting website belonging to Piaggio (Vespa) USA. It's not a sales site, but a lobby site. There, they're lobbying for more parking space in the USA for scooters and motorcycles. |
| 28 June, 2006 - USA Motorcycle Helmet Survey - JD Power | US customer satisfaction survey group, J.D. Power, conducted their annual motorcycle satisfaction survey.
Arai scored the highest, 8th year in a row !!!
But more and more potential buyers turn to the internet for helmet information.
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| 21 June, 2006 - The French and Mobile Telephones | | The French Minister of Interior published some interesting statistics on mobile phone usage in cars. it would seem that 90+% of French drivers know it's dangerous and know it's forbidden, but still they do it !! |
| 16 June, 2006 - Number of Safe Motorcycle Riders in the World | Since the media is talking recently a lot on how dangerous motorcycle riding is, we at Bikes in the Fast Lane have decided to show people how safe it actually is to ride a motorcycle. Incurring great financial expense, we went out and produced a real-time accident monitoring system, worldwide.
Now, you too can see how safe riding a motorcycle is.
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| 8 June, 2006 - French Accidents Statistics 2005 | | The fatal accidents in French traffic statistics has been published for 2005. Another improvement over the previous year, except, as usual, for motorcycles. |
| 4 March, 2006 - Ladies Biker Gangs | According to the USA Motorcycle Council, female riders are on the increase (36%), and more and more women are forming motorcycle clubs.
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| 28 February, 2006 - Theft/Crash Statistics USA 2005 | | US insurance company Progressive has compiled a statistics report on where you motorcycle will most likely be stolen or crashed in the USA; Interesting results, some surprising. |
| 10 February, 2006 - French License Points | | The three year statistics on the number of points withdrawn from the French driving license have been issued. A very clear progression in the number of people who have lost their driving license. |
| 23 January, 2006 - Motorcycle Sales In France - 2005 | The new motorcycle sales statistics for France during 2005 look very good.
The record number of motorcycles sold has been broken, so the French motorcycle market is looking very good. |
| 11 January, 2006 - Most Popular Motorcycles Movies | | The final statistics, this time from the Motorcycles in the Movies database, and the Celebrities that ride Motorcycles list. Top 5 movies and top 10 celebrities. |
| 25 October, 2005 - Motorcycle Market in Europe | | ACEM released their annual report with interesting statistics on the European Motorcycle market. |
| 9 September, 2005 - Price Comparison Database | | We've created a database comparing prices in Europe (and the US) for motorcycle gear. |
| 18 August, 2005 - Speed Radar Cameras Unsafe ! | | A report published in 2004 (and hidden) shows that Speed Radar Cameras are dangerous and cause more accidents. |
| 5 July, 2005 - Betting Against Valentino Rossi | You can bet that Valentino does NOT win the championship, or win, but whatever you bet, you'll not make much money.
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| 6 September, 2004 - MotoGP Winning Over F1 | | More and more viewers are turning to MotoGP, not happy with F1. Surprised ? |
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