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If middle-age men don’t have enough to be concerned about in relation to their longevity, add another trend to the threat: motorcycle riding.

Once a pastime that was dominated by youth, both in the number of riders and fatalities, that trend has reversed.

In 1995, 1,229 people were killed on motorcycles on the nation’s roads. Of those, 1,057 were under the age of 29 and 172 were 50 and over.

In 2014, 4,295 motorcycle fatalities were reported, with 1,177 of those under age 29, but 1,549 were age 50 or older.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, that trend has been picking up steam for years.

“In the early 1980s the proportion of fatally injured motorcyclists who were 50 and older started to increase, rising from 3 percent of all rider deaths in 1982 to 13 percent in 1997 and 36 percent in 2014,” the IIHS reports. “In contrast, 30 percent of the fatally injured motorcyclists in 2014 were younger than 30, compared with 80 percent in 1975.”

Several factors are associated with this trend, the report says, including the growing popularity of motorcycles among older people who may have better incomes, but also decreasing physical dexterity and reaction times.

Another factor is engine sizes. The IIHS said motorcycles whose drivers were killed in crashes have dramatically more power.

Among motorcycle drivers killed in 2014, 32 percent drove motorcycles with engine size larger than 1,400 ccs, compared with 9 percent in 2000 and less than 1 percent in 1990.

Not only that, helmet laws have been relaxed in some states, with 19 states and the District of Columbia requiring helmets at all times (West Virginia and Virginia are among these) with only some bikers (17 years old and younger) required to wear helmets in 28 states and no requirement at all in Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire.

In 2014, 62 percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers were helmeted. Helmet use was lower, at 53 percent, for people killed as passengers on motorcycles, the IIHH says.

Other vehicles, not the motorcyclist, are the cause of about 33 percent of crashes.

Helmets are crucial, especially those that have safety ratings, said Princeton Detachment West Virginia State Trooper P.M. Hephner.

“I wish people would wear their protective equipment,” he said, adding that includes a helmet with a high safety rating, like a Snell, and leather pants and jackets.

“They (bikers) had better be savvy on weather, too,” he said, “and that other drivers don’t pay attention to them like they should.”

Hephner said other motorists often take motorcycles for granted, not realizing that even the wind created by a passing vehicle can have an impact on the cycle.

He also said he learned when he was taking a motorcycle riding class that most accidents occur within “a mile or two” of the rider’s home, and even minor accidents can cause injury.

Although statistics show a more stable rate of motorcycle fatalities overall after 2008, a Governors Highway Safety Association report says there are some reasons for that.

“High gas prices can encourage the use of more fuel-efficient motorcycles,” the report said. “Rain, snow and cold temperatures discourage biking. Rising costs of motorcycles also can be an influencing factor.”

The large increase in fatalities between 1997 and 2008 (5,112 deaths) is “clearly linked to the doubling of the number of registered motorcycles, from 3,826,373 to 7,752,926,” the report said. “The 2009 break in the pattern of yearly increases in motorcyclist deaths is likely attributable to the severe economic recession of the time, resulting in less travel for recreational purposes.”

While motorcycle fatalities have been on the increase in the nation, other motor vehicle deaths have decreased.

In 1997, there were 2,116 motorcycle fatalities and 39,897 with cars and trucks.

By 2013, the number of motorcycle deaths had climbed to 4,668 while other crashes accounted for 28,051 fatalities.

In West Virginia, 26 people died on motorcycles in 2014, an increase from 20 in 2013. Virginia also saw an increase, from 64 to 73.

Ninety-two percent of motorcycle deaths are male, while 66 percent of females who die in crashes are passengers.

Forty-two percent of motorcyclist deaths in 2014 occurred in single-vehicle crashes, and 58 percent occurred in multiple-vehicle crashes.