1885 |
--- |
First motorcycle |
1903 |
--- |
Harley-Davidson Motor Company founded |
1912 |
--- |
First white lines on roads |
1914 |
--- |
First stop signal |
1928 |
--- |
First front-wheel brakes on Harley-Davidson motorcycles met with
skepticism |
1939 |
--- |
First flashing turn signals |
1940 |
--- |
First sealed-beam headlights |
1945 |
--- |
198,000 motorcycles registered in the U.S. |
1949 |
--- |
Harley-Davidson fits hydraulic front
suspension |
1949 |
--- |
Honda builds its first motorcycle |
1952 |
--- |
First hydraulic brakes on motorcycles |
1953 |
--- |
Patent for protective helmet issued to University of Southern
California (USC) Professor C. F. Red Lombard for energy-absorbing
liner separate from the comfort padding |
1953 |
--- |
Movie The Wild One released |
1955 |
--- |
450,000 motorcycles registered in the U.S. |
1957 |
--- |
Snell Memorial Foundation established to create helmet performance
standards |
1958 |
--- |
California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers begin using helmets |
1958 |
--- |
Harley-Davidson introduces rear suspension |
1958 |
--- |
Over 500,000 motorcycles registered in the U.S. |
1959 |
--- |
First Japanese motorcycle manufacturer (Yamaha), enters U.S. market |
1962 |
--- |
646,000 motorcycles registered in the U.S. |
1962 |
--- |
You meet the nicest people on a Honda campaign launched |
1965 |
--- |
1.4 million motorcycles registered in the U.S. |
1966 |
--- |
First ANSI Z90.1 performance standard for motorcycle helmets |
1966 |
--- |
Law directing the issuance of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
(FMVSS) enacted |
1967 |
--- |
Bell Helmets introduces the first full facial-coverage helmet |
1969 |
--- |
660,000 motorcycles sold in the U.S. |
1969 |
--- |
Stock motorcycles run quarter-mile in less than 13 seconds |
1970 |
--- |
Movie Easy Rider released |
1970 |
--- |
1.1 million motorcycles sold in the U.S. |
1970 |
--- |
2.8 million motorcycles registered in the U.S. |
1972 |
--- |
FMVSS 123 standardizes motorcycle controls |
1973 |
--- |
MSF created |
1974 |
--- |
FMVSS 218, Motorcycle
Helmets promulgated |
1974 |
--- |
55-mph speed limit established nationwide |
1975 |
--- |
5 million motorcycles registered in the U.S. |
1975 |
--- |
U.S. traffic fatalities: motorcycle occupants3,265; passenger
car occupants37,897 |
1976 |
--- |
Harry Hurt begins study of motorcycle crashes at USC with NHTSA
funding |
1977 |
--- |
NHTSA funds rear-wheel-steering motorcycle project |
1978 |
--- |
Stock motorcycles run quarter-mile in less than 12 seconds |
1980 |
--- |
U.S. traffic fatalities peak: motorcycle occupants5,144;
passenger car occupants27,449 |
1980 |
--- |
First International Motorcycle Safety Conference sponsored by
MSF |
1981 |
--- |
Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures,
(referred to as the Hurt Report)
released |
1983 |
--- |
Stock motorcycles run quarter-mile in less than 11 seconds |
1985 |
--- |
U.S. traffic fatalities: motorcycle occupants4,564; passenger
car occupants23,212 |
1985 |
--- |
5.4 million motorcycles registered and 700,000 sold in the United
States |
1986 |
--- |
Superbike ban proposed and defeated |
1990 |
--- |
U.S. traffic fatalities: motorcycle occupants3,244; passenger
car occupants24,092 |
1990 |
--- |
Second International Motorcycle Safety Conference sponsored by
MSF |
1991 |
--- |
First antilock brakes on motorcycles |
1995 |
--- |
U.S. traffic fatalities: motorcycle occupants2,227; passenger
car occupants22,423 |
1997 |
--- |
USC Head Protection Research Laboratory conducts feasibility study
of updating
FMVSS 218 |
1997 |
--- |
U.S. traffic fatalities: motorcycle occupants2,116; passenger
car occupants22,199 |
1997 |
--- |
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Road Safety
Committee 9 (OECD/RS 9) Technical Experts Group formed to develop
common international methodology for in-depth motorcycle crash investigation |
1997 |
--- |
MSF and NHTSA sponsor development of the National Agenda for
Motorcycle Safety |
1998 |
--- |
Stock motorcycles run quarter-mile in less than 10 seconds |
1998 |
--- |
OECD common methodology first used in Bangkok, Thailand |
1999 |
--- |
U.S. traffic fatalities: motorcycle occupants2,472; passenger
car occupants20,818 |