A graphic from the Washington Post about motorcycle deaths is making the rounds again on Twitter, and it will set off a lot of comments by people who can't put it in context, so let's go back to the source paper.

Here is what you need to know:

If you ride 15 miles every day on a motorcycle for a year, you have a 1 in 860 chance of dying.

If you fly 500 miles every day on an airplane for a year, you have a 1 in 85,000 chance of dying.



People who ride motorcycles definitely like the feeling they get doing it, and civilization was built on risk-takers, but you're not getting on a boat and sailing across the water because you'll starve if you stay where you are, you are exposing yourself to substantial harm because it gives you a rush.

Cyclists say they mitigate risk by being more competent and cautious and that is true - if you survived well enough to still ride. John F. Kennedy, Jr. has a new show out about his romance and the ending in a plane crash. I grew up in a 'Piper town.' Lots of civilians go there to learn to fly. They know good pilots from bad ones. There was no one in Vero Beach, Florida who was shocked when Kennedy died in a plane crash. He was considered a terrible pilot who got his license using persistence. But he wanted to 'identify' as a pilot regardless of his competence. That is the issue with many who buy motorcycles and place themselves at great risk.

Motorcycles are fun death-machines but if the rest of society is contributing to your health care costs, they do get to override your claims about freedom. If you are rich, though, ride on.

Citation: Savage, Ian, 2013. "Comparing the fatality risks in United States transportation across modes and over time," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 9-22. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/retrec/v43y2013i1p9-22.html