All the posts are correct. And the author of the article is also correct. Statistics is like that. Statistics is an analysis of mostly variables, and will appear different depending on the direction taken. The author views from a non variable, Time. In a given year (2001 in the data), It was 3 times more likely, on the average, to have an accident in a car/truck than a motorcycle. Yes the road mileage, weather, and number of days driving is a major factor in that. Twisting data even further, I could say that those motorcycles were on the road only four months, compared to 12 for the car/truck, and that overall the odds of an accident for the average person were exactly the same. Twisted statistics. The author's other point, beating the odds, is related to not being an average person within the statistics. Wearing a helmet, defensive riding, etc, all push the odds over to the side of survival. Creating a much better rate of survival. Same goes for something like riding a wheelie while filtering through heavy freeway traffic. The odds go over to not surviving. Mileage means something there also. The more a person rides, the greater the risk, as opposed to some one who hardly rides at all. I will say this, if a person has a record of accidents in cars/trucks, the odds are not in favor of a free and safe ride on a motorcycle. It's all about attitude on the roadway, and how you juggle the odds in every intersection, corner, and pack of traffic.