Published on Wednesday, March 14, 2007
in the Florida Today

A grim cycle: 8 dead so far in 2007

Three motorcycle fatalities during the past four days bring the total so far this year to eight. At that pace, Brevard County could wind up with 28 motorcycle deaths in 2007, up from last year's record 20.

Twice as many bikers are on Florida's highways as there were five years ago, increasing the odds of riders getting into a deadly accident.

But an analysis of federal and state accident data by FLORIDA TODAY shows that speed, alcohol and riding without a helmet contributed greatly to the rise in fatalities. Of the 61 motorcycle deaths in Brevard from 2000 to 2005, 38 people weren't wearing helmets; 23 deaths involved alcohol and 14 involved speeding.

Officials and others agree: Motorcyclists need to be more careful, and the rest of the driving world needs to watch out for bikers.

"We all live in a vacuum these days," said Bobby Chasin, whose son Michael died Saturday when his motorcycle collided with a sport utility vehicle on State Road A1A near Indialantic. "We're not purposely looking for motorcycles."

In the most recent motorcycle fatality, James Green was heading home from a pool tournament at Pinto's Lounge in Titusville Monday night, speeding north on U.S. 1 when he missed a curve, rode into the median and laid the bike down before crossing into oncoming lanes, state troopers said.

The 1994 Honda tumbled several times, pitching a helmetless Green onto the ground, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Channing Taylor said.

His death has two things in common with the deaths of James Dykema on Merritt Island on Friday and Michael Chasin on Saturday, Taylor said. They all were speeding, and they all were helmetless. Both factors contributed to their deaths, he said.

Dangerous spring

Despite the relative safety of the recently ended Bike Week in Daytona, when seven died compared with 21 last year, spring is proving deadly for Brevard County motorcyclists. Gas prices are up and the nicer weather sends more bikers on the road, Taylor said, and that increases the likelihood of accidents and deaths.

"You definitely have more crashes in nicer weather," Taylor said.

Both statewide and countywide numbers from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles show that the surge in motorcycle deaths follows an increase in registration.

Statewide, motorcycle fatalities doubled from 227 in 2000 to 441 in 2005. Registered bikes also doubled, from 223,787 in 2000 to 455,379 in 2005.

In Brevard, motorcycle fatalities rose from eight in 2000 to 20 in 2006, while motorcycle registration went from 9,301 to 18,312.

The Florida Highway Patrol launched a program last year after they saw the record motorcycle deaths during Bike Week.

It may be time for public awareness programs telling drivers to look out for bikers, Trooper Kim Miller said.

"People tend to track the larger objects," Miller said. They don't pay attention to small, fast-moving motorcycles.

One wore helmet

Of the eight people who died in motorcycle accidents in Brevard this year, only one, Roy Lees, 62, of Sebastian, was wearing a helmet. He died March 3 when a truck hit him. Investigators said the driver didn't see Lees.

Three Palm Bay teens speeding on neighborhood streets at night in January died after drinking at one of the victims' birthday party. None wore a helmet.

Scottsmoor resident Denny Bestwick, 52, died in February when habitual drunken-driving offender James Bremmer, driving a borrowed pickup truck, hit the helmetless aerospace engineer riding his Harley.

On Friday, Dykema, 28, died in a head-on collision with a Ford Explorer on North Tropical Trail on Merritt Island. He wasn't wearing a helmet when he struck his head against the side of the SUV as it pulled his Yamaha motorcycle under, troopers said.

Investigators said he was going more than 60 mph. The posted speed is 35 mph.

On Saturday, Chasin was heading back to a family cookout when he collided with a sport utility vehicle that had tried to make the turn near the Doubletree Hotel. Chasin was helmetless and driving between 65 mph and 85 mph on a road where the posted speed is 45 mph, troopers said.

Have 'patience'

Virginia Inserillo, Chasin's maternal grandmother, was upset that people would blame him for the accident just because he wasn't wearing a helmet.

"The important part is that he was hit and killed," she said.

Bobby Chasin doesn't blame the driver. He concedes that his son should have worn his helmet and shouldn't have been speeding.

"It doesn't give someone the right not to yield the right-of-way," the father said.

People just don't pay attention, he said. They go from air-conditioned home to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned office without looking out for the other guy, he said.

To riders, his advice is this: "Assume everybody coming at you is going to run you down and you might have a chance."

And to the other drivers out there: "Have a little patience."