Motorcycle sales have almost doubled since 1990, and much of that growth has come among riders over 40.
The average age of motorcycle ownership rose from 33 in 1998 to 40 in 2003.
The good news: older riders are enjoying their rides and bringing the benefits of their life experience to the motorcycle community.
The bad news: older riders are getting injured and killed at significantly higher rates than young riders.
The average age of motorcyclists injured in accidents that required hospital care between 1996 and 2005 rose from age 34 to 39.
In the same time span the fraction of all injured riders who were 40 or older increased from 28 percent to nearly 50 percent.
The proportion of riders 20 to 29 years old injured in crashes actually declined.
Using the National Trauma Databank's records, University of Rochester Medical Center ER physicians review medical charts for over 60,000 motorcycle injuries, for cyclists 17 to 89 years of age.
Their findings should make older bikers pay attention.
Riders over 40 experienced longer ICU and hospital stays, suffered more severe injuries, and more frequently died of their injuries than younger rider.
Their risk of dying from their injuries was 1.
5 to 2 times greater than younger riders with similar injuries.
They were more at risk for dying of less severe injuries, and more likely to spend 24 hours or more in ICU than younger riders.
Their greater vulnerability was directly tied to age and health status: people over 40 are more likely to have pre-existing illnesses, like heart disease or respiratory ailments or obesity, that would complicate their care and increase their length of hospital stay.
Fractures of arms and legs, hands and feet, were the commonest kinds of injuries across all age groups.
The severest injuries were chest and head injuries, especially traumatic brain injuries.
Older riders suffered substantially higher rates of these severe injuries.
More of the older cyclists' crashes were related to a loss of control of their bike, and could be directly related to physical changes that come with normal aging.
Vision, especially in dim light or at night, becomes less acute.
Balance can deteriorate and reaction time slows.
Two of the most important variables in accident risk and accident severity are drinking and use of helmets.
In these areas younger and older riders' behavior was strikingly similar: for about a third of accidents for bikers of any age, alcohol was involved.
Young bikers and older ones used helmets at the same rate, 73 percent.
The takeaway message for older bikers is clear: your odds of crashing rise with every birthday, and so do your odds of getting seriously hurt.
Ride sober, strap on that helmet, take all the proper safe measures, and don't take risks.
You'll have a lot more fun if you finish your ride in one piece.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or your loved one has been killed in a motorcycle crash, and you believe that dangerous highway design, driver negligence, or a defective product contributed to the crash, you will want to discuss your situation with an experienced motorcycle lawyer.
You should do so as soon as possible after the event, so that an investigation can be started while witnesses' memories are fresh, and before vital evidence is lost or destroyed.