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Start your engines: student motorcyclists weigh in |
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Tuesday, 28 August 2007 |
by LINDSAY TIGAR
Lifestyles Editor
College students are often looking for a way to save a pretty penny.
For some, the road to savings includes riding on two wheels instead of four.
Collin T. Hawkes, a senior psychology major and student motorcyclist, enjoys reaping the benefits of driving a motorcycle instead of a vehicle.
“You can pretty much park anywhere on campus and you get great gas mileage,” Hawkes said.
Hawkes saved up for a summer to purchase his $2,000 bike and is overall satisfied with his acquisition.
Insurance rates for Hawkes’ 1992 Honda Nighthawk motorcycle cruiser are low at $15 a month.
Many factors go into determining the price of insurance for student
motorcyclists, said Steve J. Coffey, an insurance agent at Boone
Insurance Company.
“If you have a $20,000 bike and you need full coverage, you may be
looking at $600 a year, where a $7,000 bike may be at $300-$400,”
Coffey said.
 Senior psychology major Collin T. Hawkes shows off his 1992 Honda Nighthawk outside Plemmons Student Union Monday. | | Trey Mahoney | The Appalachian |
Driving record, experience and financial scoring may change the price
of insurance but sex, unlike popular belief, does not change the rate.
“In years past, males paid more for insurance, but now both sexes pay the same,” Coffey said.
Although at first owning a motorcycle helps to save money, after a few
years or a few accidents, students may be emptying their pockets into
their need for speed.
Action Cycle Sports owner Frank S. Peele said he sells one bike a month to students.
Of those students, Peele estimated that all of them have to take out loans in order to pay for them.
Peele also is wary of students purchasing bikes that will not be a good investment for them in the long run.
“It can be a good investment if they buy a good, clean bike that has been well maintained,” Peele said.
“Typically, if they ride it a season or two and want to sell it, they will get a good percentage of their money back.”
Motorcycles, like cars, wear and tear after years of driving.
“It can be expensive,” Hawkes said. “You have to buy new tires, and things like that.”
Coffey questions how much use a student at Appalachian State can get out of a motorcycle.
“Up here with the weather and everything, a student won’t get a lot of
use of it,” Coffey said. “We have a lot of students that are moving to
this area that may be from Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina that may
have never driven in snow, and may not have that experience. I would
suggest a vehicle.”
Accidents and fatalities of motorcycle drivers are on the rise.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), from 2004 to 2005 statistics rose by 13 percent in the United
States.
From 1995 to 2005 motorcycle accidents more than doubled. In fact, 4,553 people died in motorcycle accidents in 2005 alone.
“A lot of [student motorcyclists] impress me in the way of being
responsible and level headed but due to their ages, they get the bike
and ride and sometimes common sense goes by the way side,” Peele said.
“Then they are back for repairs when they crashed it.”
Hawkes has crashed his motorcycle twice since he purchased it and does
not recommend students to buy a bike without consideration.
“It takes a lot of skill to know how to ride a motorcycle and it’s very dangerous,” Hawkes said.
Peele agrees that very few students have the talent to ride a motorcycle safely.
“I would say truthfully, a small percentage of them have the ability
and the skills to operate the bike in a safe manner without getting
themselves into trouble,” Peele said.
Also, more money may be required in the event of having an accident and surviving it.
“If it’s your fault, it goes up about 40 percent, depending on how serious the accident it is,” Coffey said.
The positives and negatives include better parking spaces, affordable
insurance, great gas mileage or the risk of death and even higher
insurance rates.
Hawkes suggests weighing the options before making the choice to become a student motorcyclist.
And if a student does make the choice to hit the highway on two wheels, he suggests to “be careful and ride defensively.”
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