Nevada Motorcycle Accident Attorney - Las Vegas Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

This information relates to the safety of Motorcycles. If you came directly to this page from a search engine, may want to read the Nevada Personal Injury Law Introduction on our home page. Also, you can get an overview of the different types of accidents such as Wrongful Death, Auto Accidents, Premises Liability, and Products Liability before you explore Motorcycle Safety Facts.

The following gives safety facts on Motorcycles for the year 2002:

In 2002, 3,244 motorcyclists were killed and an additional 65,000 were injured in traffic crashes in the United States — 1 percent more than the 3,197 motorcyclist fatalities and 7 percent more than the 60,000 motorcyclist injuries reported in 2001.

More than 120,000 motorcyclists have died in traffic crashes since the enactment of the Highway Safety and National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.

Motorcycles made up 2 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States in 2001 and accounted for only 0.3 percent of all vehicle miles traveled.

Per vehicle mile traveled in 2001, motorcyclists were about 26 times as likely as passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle traffic crash and 5 times as likely to be injured.

Per registered vehicle, the fatality rate for motorcyclists in 2001 was 4.1 times the fatality rate for passenger car occupants. The injury rate for passenger car occupants per registered vehicle was 1.2 times the injury rate for motorcyclists.

In 2002, motorcyclists accounted for 8 percent of total traffic fatalities, 9 percent of all occupant fatalities, and 2 percent of all occupants injured.

About one-half (1,677) of all motorcycles involved in fatal crashes in 2002 collided with another motor vehicle in transport. In two-vehicle crashes, 77 percent of the motorcycles involved were impacted in the front. Only 6 percent were struck in the rear.

Motorcycles are more likely to be involved in a fatal collision with a fixed object than are other vehicles. In 2002, 28 percent of the motorcycles involved in fatal crashes collided with a fixed object, compared to 18 percent for passenger cars, 12 percent for light trucks, and 4 percent for large trucks.

Motorcycles are also more likely to be involved in an injury collision with a fixed object than are other vehicles. In 2002, 12 percent of the reported injury crashes involving motorcycles were fixed object crashes, compared to 9 percent for passenger cars, 8 percent for light trucks, and 4 percent for large trucks.

In 2002, there were 1,416 two-vehicle fatal crashes involving a motorcycle and another vehicle. In 37 percent (525) of these crashes the other vehicle was turning left while the motorcycle was going straight, passing, or overtaking the vehicle. Both vehicles were going straight in 390 crashes (28 percent).

Almost half (44 percent) of all motorcyclist fatalities in 2002 resulted from crashes in seven states: 323 in California, 319 in Florida, 247 in Texas, 141 in New York, 134 in Pennsylvania, 133 in Ohio, and 123 in North Carolina.

In 2002, 38 percent of all motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes were speeding, approximately twice the rate for drivers of passenger cars or light trucks. The percentage of alcohol involvement was 39 percent higher for motorcyclists than for drivers of passenger vehicles.

One out of four motorcycle operators (25 percent) involved in fatal crashes in 2002 were operating the vehicle with an invalid license at the time of the collision, while only 13 percent of drivers of passenger vehicles in fatal crashes did not have a valid license.

Motorcycle operators involved in fatal traffic crashes were 1.3 times as likely as passenger vehicle drivers to have a previous license suspension or revocation (16 percent and 13 percent, respectively).

Almost 5 percent of the motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes in 2002 had at least one previous conviction for driving while intoxicated on their driver records, compared to 3.3 percent of passenger vehicle drivers.

Motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes in 2002 had higher intoxication rates, with blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of 0.08 grams per deciliter (g/dl) or greater, than any other type of motor vehicle driver. Intoxication rates for vehicle operators involved in fatal crashes were 31 percent for motorcycles, 23 percent for light trucks, 22 percent for passenger cars, and 2 percent for large trucks.

In 2002, 32 percent of all fatally injured motorcycle operators were intoxicated (BAC 0.08 g/dl or greater). An additional 8 percent had lower alcohol levels (BAC 0.01 to 0.07 g/dl). The intoxication rate was highest for fatally injured operators between 40 and 44 years old (47 percent), followed by ages 35 to 39 (42 percent) and ages 45 to 49 (39 percent).

Almost half (44 percent) of the 1,426 motorcycle operators who died in single-vehicle crashes in 2002 were intoxicated. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of those killed in single-vehicle crashes on weekend nights were intoxicated.

Motorcycle operators killed in traffic crashes at night were nearly 4 times as likely to be intoxicated as those killed during the day (49 percent and 13 percent, respectively).

The reported helmet use rate for intoxicated motorcycle operators killed in traffic crashes was 38 percent, compared with 62 percent for those who were sober.

NHTSA estimates that helmets saved the lives of 692 motorcyclists in 2002. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 449 lives could have been saved.

Helmets are estimated to be 29 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries to motorcyclists.

Helmets cannot protect the rider from most types of bodily injuries. However, a recent NHTSA study showed that motorcycle helmets are 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries. (Source: 1996 Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES): Report to Congress on Benefits of Safety Belts and Motorcycle Helmets.)

According to NHTSA’s National Occupant Protection Use Survey, a nationally representative observational survey of motorcycle helmet, safety belt, and child safety seat use, helmet use declined by 13 percentage points over 2 years, from 71 percent in 2000 to 58 percent in 2002. This drop is statistically significant and corresponds to a striking 45 percent increase in nonuse.

Reported helmet use rates for fatally injured motorcyclists in 2002 were 53 percent for operators and 41 percent for passengers, the same as the corresponding rates of 53 percent and 41 percent, respectively, in 2001.

All motorcycle helmets sold in the United States are required to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218, the performance standard which establishes the minimum level of protection helmets must afford each user.

In 2002, 20 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico required helmet use by all motorcycle operators and passengers. In another 27 states, only persons under a specific age, usually 18, were required to wear helmets. Three states had no laws requiring helmet use.

All facts excerpted from: Traffic Safety Facts 2002 - Motorcycles (DOT HS 809 608), National Center for Statistics and Analysis, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, online at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2002/2002mcyfacts.pdf (visited on 12/17/03).

Return to Accident Claims for Other Vehicles.

Contact Us To Discuss Your Motorcycle Accident Claim

If you want a free evaluation of your Las Vegas Motorcycle Accident Claim, contact David Matheny, Esq. (of the law firm of Dempsey, Roberts & Smith, Ltd) for a free personal injury consultation. We are located in Las Vegas, Nevada and we provide legal services for Las Vegas Motorcycle Accident Claimants (and many other injury claims) throughout the State of Nevada.