Similar trends here in Oz, and we have consistently tough helmet laws across all states. Here the greatest increase in deaths is in the 35+ age group--which until 10 years ago had the lowest mortality. My humble theory is that the problem is multi-factorial. Firstly, bikes are getting too good. We are seeing alot of mid-life riders getting back onto bikes after 20 year lapses, they have the money to buy a R1, fireblade or something similar and then find out that the performance of a 1000cc plus bike is just a tad better now than last time they rode in the late 70s/early 80s. This may be exacerbated by unrealised limits to the riders' ability. ("The older I get, the better I was" syndrome). Also, here in Oz, the powers that be ignore all road safety issues other than alcohol and speed--people think that as long as they are sober and not exceeding the speed limit then they are invulnerable and can drive like #$%* with impunity. Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure as such crash stats that are collected are almost useless. In NSW, if you lose control of the bike then the cause of the crash is "excessive speed". For instance, doing 30km/h (approx 20mph) in a 60km/h (40mph) zone, hit oil, lose the bike and Mr Plod will record a contributing cause of accident as "excessive speed"
If anyone out there has some hard OBJECTIVE facts on this, it would be ++ interesting.
