Riders have expressed to me a wide range of feelings over the years regarding interstate highways. Most riders I've met are willing to ride them but prefer the "back roads." Some riders have told me they simply hate riding on interstates and avoid them whenever possible. They often tell me they hate them because "they're boring," but will often later admit the higher speeds also make them very nervous.
Search across various motorcycle riding forums and you will find arguments from pro and anti-interstate riders, with a few in the middle, happy to ride either. I've always argued that riding interstates and other limited-access highways is actually safer than riding on full access roads, which have cross traffic and variable speed limits. However, it occurred to me that my argument is based on my experience and others I've spoken with. Likewise, the arguments I see in the forums are also based on the riders' relatively limited experience and deductive reasoning.
What we need here is data. For that, we can turn to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) National Center for Statistical Analysis (NCSA).
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Michael A. Uhl
