| 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 occupants-3,265; passenger car occupants-37,897 |
| 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 occupants-5,144; passenger car occupants-27,449 |
| 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 occupants-4,564; passenger car occupants-23,212 |
| 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 occupants-3,244; passenger car occupants-24,092 |
| 1990 |
Second International
Motorcycle Safety Conference sponsored by MSF |
| 1991 |
First antilock brakes on
motorcycles |
| 1995 |
U.S. traffic fatalities:
motorcycle occupants-2,227; passenger car occupants-22,423 |
| 1997 |
USC Head Protection Research Laboratory conducts feasibility
study of updating FMVSS 218 |
| 1997 |
U.S. traffic fatalities: motorcycle occupants-2,116; passenger
car occupants-22,199 |
| 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 occupants-2,472; passenger
car occupants-20,818 |
