The tragic accident resulting in the death of two speed loving bikers in September of this year left a community mourning and the authorities scratching their heads as to how to prevent future similar occurrences.  The two young men had spent an evening with fellow riders outside a Grapevine Hooters restaurant in Texas, however  when the group pulled out of the parking lot, the two men; Robert “Brad” Wright and Derek Smith, both 18 lagged behind.

A short while afterwards the two were seen speeding past the others in the group on the State Highway 161, soon after Mr Smith lost control of his motorcycle, hit the retaining wall and fell some 34 feet. Mr Wright who was hot on his heels, hit Mr Smith’s bike, flipped over the wall and plummeted to the ground below. They both tragically died.

What's the attraction?

An individual that is prone to “thrill seeking behaviour” is likely to look towards activities such as sport biking commented Kim Hazelbaker of the Highway Loss Data Institute who compiled accident statistics in 2007. He went on to say that like many people, he doesn't mind riders getting their thrills but that they need to keep it off the highways and places where members of the public can get hurt.

Lee Martin, another young rider stated that an accomplished rider can do all things on one wheel that others do on two that includes braking, accelerating and even exiting the highway. He went on to say that he is looking for new thrills as he “can do a wheelie for 15 to 25 miles now” and it’s simply “not challenging” anymore. The question then is; what challenge will quench a thrill seekers desire for danger? The answer unfortunately is there isn't one and knowing that, means that it may simply be a waiting game before a speeder turns into stunter who will eventually carry out the stunt that stops him in his tracks.

Made for the masses

One would be mistaken if they thought riding was an elitist ‘sport’ as the cost of these power hungry machines is well within the reach of your average Joe. In addition the market is so fiercely competitive that you can pick up one of the biggest and fastest mass produced bike for around $12,000 (£6,000). That means a beast of a bike churning out a monstrous 175 horsepower into the bike’s rear wheel, weighing less than 500 pounds can quite easily be purchased by the kid serving you your morning latte or the one flipping your lunch burger.

The ability to go from 0 to 60 in under 3 seconds, burn through a mile in just over 30 and hit sumptuous speeds of 185 miles an hour is any thrill seekers dream. To know that your average 18 year old has access to such speeds concerns a number of parties, one being the insurers who have to take such capabilities and inclinations into consideration.

Knowing that the majority of road racers and ‘stunters’ are under 25, is it any wonder that the companies providing bike insurance hike the cost of premiums up for those that happen to fall into this demographic? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety published a report in 2007 where they stated that the riders of “supersport” bikes that have been built on racing platforms are four times as likely be killed than those that opt for “cruiser” bikes such as Harley Davidsons.

The fatalities can usually be linked to driver error but at other times it has involved members of the public taking the law into their own hands and in attempt at making the roads ‘safer’, have tried running speedsters and stunters off the highway. Something that has been experienced first-hand by Jeremy Durrett who  got hooked on ‘stunting’ after carrying out his first wheelie. Not liking the limits of parking lots, he uses the highway as he prefers their speeds despite numerous attempts by other motorists to run him off the road.