Fatality Facts 2006

Motorcycles

Overview | Age and gender | Motorcycle type and engine size | When and where they died | Alcohol involvement

Motorcycles are less stable and less visible than cars and often have high performance capabilities. When motorcycles crash, their riders lack the protection of an enclosed vehicle, so they're more likely to be injured or killed. The federal government estimates that per mile traveled in 2005, the number of deaths on motorcycles was about 37 times the number in cars.¹

Research published in 1995 shows that five crash types account for 86 percent of fatal motorcycle crashes: motorcycle runs off road (41 percent), motorcycle or other vehicle runs traffic control (18 percent), head on (11 percent), car turns in front of motorcycle (8 percent), and motorcycle goes down in roadway (7 percent).²

Because serious head injury is common among fatally injured motorcyclists, helmet use is important. Helmets are about 37 percent effective in preventing motorcyclist deaths³ and about 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries.⁴ An unhelmeted rider is 40 percent more likely to suffer a fatal head injury compared with a helmeted rider.⁴ Yet only 20 states and the District of Columbia mandate helmet use by all riders. Death rates from head injuries have been shown to be twice as high among motorcyclists in states with no helmet laws or laws that apply only to young riders, compared with states where laws apply to all riders.⁵ During the past decade several states have repealed or weakened their helmet laws. In 1997 helmet laws in Texas and Arkansas were weakened to apply only to younger riders. Kentucky weakened its law in 1998, Florida weakened its law in 2000, and Pennsylvania weakened its law in 2003. Louisiana weakened its law in 1999 but reverted to universal coverage in 2004. Repealing or weakening helmet laws so they don't apply to all riders has been followed by increases in deaths.^6,7,8 In contrast, benefits return when helmet laws applying to all riders are reinstated.⁹

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the US Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Overview

A total of 4,697 motorcyclists died in crashes in 2006. Motorcyclist deaths had been declining since the early 1980s but began to increase in 1998 and have continued to increase. Since 1997 motorcyclist deaths have more than doubled, reaching a record 11 percent of all motor-vehicle crash deaths in 2006.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths and motorcyclist deaths, 1975-2006

Motorcyclist deaths as a percentage of all motor vehicle crash deaths, 1975-2006
Year	Passenger vehicle occupant deaths		Motorcyclist deaths		All motor vehicle deaths
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	30,601	69	3,106	7	44,525
1976	31,724	70	3,232	7	45,523
1977	32,823	69	4,004	8	47,878
1978	34,923	69	4,448	9	50,331
1979	35,026	69	4,712	9	51,093
1980	34,995	68	4,955	10	51,091
1981	33,711	68	4,737	10	49,301
1982	29,654	67	4,267	10	43,945
1983	29,153	68	4,099	10	42,589
1984	30,091	68	4,425	10	44,257
1985	29,847	68	4,415	10	43,825
1986	32,224	70	4,309	9	46,087
1987	33,145	71	3,832	8	46,390
1988	34,105	72	3,491	7	47,087
1989	33,599	74	3,030	7	45,582
1990	32,711	73	3,128	7	44,599
1991	30,810	74	2,702	7	41,508
1992	29,457	75	2,291	6	39,250
1993	29,994	75	2,346	6	40,150
1994	30,816	76	2,215	5	40,716
1995	31,913	76	2,138	5	41,817
1996	32,354	77	2,077	5	42,065
1997	32,331	77	2,056	5	42,013
1998	31,779	77	2,227	5	41,501
1999	32,008	77	2,419	6	41,717
2000	32,109	77	2,829	7	41,945
2001	31,938	76	3,123	7	42,196
2002	32,724	76	3,187	7	43,005
2003	32,166	75	3,641	8	42,884
2004	31,750	74	3,904	9	42,836
2005	31,455	72	4,460	10	43,510
2006	30,476	71	4,697	11	42,642

In 2006, about a third fewer fatally injured motorcyclists were operating without a valid license (26 percent) than in 1995, but this is still higher than among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers (16 percent).

Motorcycle driver deaths by license compliance, 1995-2006
Year	Passenger vehicle drivers			Motorcycle drivers
	No valid license		Total*	No valid license		Total*
	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num
1995	3,056	14	21,456	703	36	1,939
1996	2,953	13	21,631	631	33	1,881
1997	2,900	13	21,702	612	32	1,878
1998	2,942	13	21,627	649	31	2,026
1999	2,931	13	21,899	611	27	2,223
2000	3,127	15	21,819	730	27	2,591
2001	2,977	13	21,862	799	27	2,886
2002	3,279	15	22,537	763	25	2,952
2003	3,123	14	22,200	837	25	3,358
2004	3,024	14	21,952	866	24	3,593
2005	3,154	15	21,953	1,002	24	4,142
2006	3,385	16	21,497	1,120	26	4,386
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-four percent of motorcyclist deaths in 2006 occurred in single-vehicle crashes, and 56 percent occurred in multiple-vehicle crashes.

Motorcyclist deaths by crash type, 2006
Crash type	Deaths	%
Single-vehicle	2,049	44
Multiple-vehicle	2,642	56
All crashes*	4,697	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2006, 58 percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers were helmeted. Helmet use was lower, at 43 percent, for people killed as passengers on motorcycles.

Helmet use of fatally injured motorcycle drivers and passengers, 2006
	No helmet		Helmet		Unknown		Total
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Driver	1,723	39	2,538	58	125	3	4,386
Passenger	166	53	134	43	11	4	311
Total	1,889	40	2,672	57	136	3	4,697

In 2006, 85 percent of fatally injured motorcyclists were helmeted in states with helmet laws that cover all riders, in contrast to only 20 percent in states with no helmet law. In states with helmet laws that cover only some riders, 35 percent of fatally injured motorcyclists were helmeted.

Helmet use of fatally injured motorcyclists by helmet law status, 2006
	No helmet		Helmet		Unknown		Total
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
No law	162	78	41	20	6	3	209
Partial law	1,471	61	846	35	81	3	2,398
Universal law	256	12	1,785	85	49	2	2,090
Total	1,889	40	2,672	57	136	3	4,697

Age and gender

In the early 1980s the proportion of fatally injured motorcyclists 40 and older started to increase, from 9 percent of all rider deaths in 1982 to 15 percent in 1991 and 47 percent in 2006. However, the absolute number of motorcyclist deaths among all age groups has been climbing since 1999.

Motorcyclist deaths by age, 1975-2006

Motorcyclist deaths by age, 1975-2006
Year	≤29		30-39		40-49		≥50		Total*
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	2,475	80	419	13	129	4	79	3	3,106
1976	2,565	79	426	13	142	4	97	3	3,232
1977	3,211	80	529	13	147	4	112	3	4,004
1978	3,557	80	603	14	177	4	104	2	4,448
1979	3,627	77	729	15	212	4	138	3	4,712
1980	3,641	73	896	18	265	5	149	3	4,955
1981	3,487	74	840	18	255	5	146	3	4,737
1982	3,082	72	790	19	247	6	138	3	4,267
1983	2,959	72	765	19	234	6	135	3	4,099
1984	3,171	72	813	18	263	6	165	4	4,425
1985	3,160	72	849	19	238	5	163	4	4,415
1986	3,034	70	877	20	257	6	131	3	4,309
1987	2,588	68	831	22	275	7	138	4	3,832
1988	2,309	66	757	22	278	8	146	4	3,491
1989	1,873	62	735	24	283	9	136	4	3,030
1990	1,885	60	805	26	265	8	173	6	3,128
1991	1,580	58	711	26	283	10	127	5	2,702
1992	1,242	54	638	28	268	12	143	6	2,291
1993	1,229	52	647	28	324	14	145	6	2,346
1994	1,121	51	584	26	338	15	171	8	2,215
1995	1,057	49	562	26	347	16	172	8	2,138
1996	932	45	541	26	408	20	196	9	2,077
1997	837	41	547	27	396	19	276	13	2,056
1998	897	40	599	27	465	21	265	12	2,227
1999	878	36	601	25	564	23	376	16	2,419
2000	986	35	696	25	666	24	476	17	2,829
2001	1,108	35	789	25	715	23	509	16	3,123
2002	1,022	32	767	24	758	24	638	20	3,187
2003	1,161	32	829	23	887	24	763	21	3,641
2004	1,256	32	853	22	946	24	849	22	3,904
2005	1,405	32	963	22	1,003	22	1,088	24	4,460
2006	1,496	32	986	21	1,081	23	1,132	24	4,697
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Ninety-one percent of motorcyclists killed in 2006 were males.

Motorcyclist deaths by age and gender, 2006
Age	Male		Female		Total*
Age	Num	%	Num	%	Num
<16	18	78	5	22	23
16-19	168	88	24	12	192
20-24	696	95	37	5	733
25-29	520	95	28	5	548
30-34	436	92	38	8	474
35-39	461	90	51	10	512
40-44	450	86	74	14	524
45-49	494	89	63	11	557
50-54	418	90	46	10	464
55-59	338	92	29	8	367
60-69	224	94	15	6	239
≥70	60	97	2	3	62
Total*	4,285	91	412	9	4,697
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Sixty-six percent of the females who died in motorcycle crashes in 2006 were passengers and their deaths represented 87 percent of the passenger deaths. Ninety-nine percent of the males who died were drivers

Motorcyclist deaths by person type and gender, 2006
Person type	Male		Female
Person type	Num	%	Num	%
Driver	4,246	99	140	34
Passenger	39	1	272	66
Total*	4,285	100	412	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Motorcycle type and engine size

The average engine size of motorcycles whose drivers were killed in crashes went up dramatically in the last few years. Among motorcycle operators killed in 2006, 23 percent drove motorcycles with engine size larger than 1,400 cc, compared to 9 percent in 2000 and less than 1 percent in 1990.

Percentage of motorcycle driver deaths by motorcycle engine size, 1985-2006

Motorcycle driver deaths by motorcycle engine size, 1985-2006
Year	0-1,000 cc		1,001-1,400 cc		>1,400 cc		Total*
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1985	2,649	68	613	16	0	0	3,896
1986	2,734	72	620	16	0	0	3,790
1987	2,441	72	601	18	0	0	3,409
1988	2,149	68	615	20	6	<1	3,139
1989	1,831	68	539	20	3	<1	2,682
1990	1,895	68	619	22	5	<1	2,790
1991	1,632	68	545	23	13	1	2,404
1992	1,351	65	517	25	7	<1	2,079
1993	1,330	63	582	27	11	1	2,120
1994	1,199	60	533	27	15	1	1,995
1995	1,174	61	564	29	22	1	1,939
1996	1,102	59	546	29	36	2	1,881
1997	1,053	56	612	33	33	2	1,878
1998	1,140	56	648	32	46	2	2,026
1999	1,073	48	644	29	98	4	2,223
2000	1,341	52	779	30	234	9	2,591
2001	1,540	53	780	27	309	11	2,886
2002	1,475	50	737	25	482	16	2,952
2003	1,620	48	829	25	612	18	3,358
2004	1,775	49	813	23	721	20	3,593
2005	2,069	50	928	22	861	21	4,142
2006	2,085	48	828	19	1,010	23	4,386
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Among the motorcycles whose drivers were killed in 2006, 77 percent of touring bikes had engines larger than 1,400 cc, while 97 percent of supersport bikes had engines of sizes 1,000 cc or smaller.

Fatally injured motorcycle drivers by motorcycle type and engine size, 2006
	0-1,000 cc		1,001-1,400 cc		>1,400 cc		Total*
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Cruiser/standard	432	28	502	33	586	38	1,538
Touring	1	<1	125	23	420	77	548
Sport/unclad sport	262	57	164	35	0	0	462
Supersport	1,215	97	20	2	0	0	1,254
Off-road	43	96	0	0	0	0	45
Other/unknown	132	24	17	3	4	1	539
Total	2,085	48	828	19	1,010	23	4,386
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2006, 35 percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers were on cruisers or standards and 29 percent were on supersports. In contrast, 30 percent of motorcycle driver deaths were on cruisers and standards and 19 percent were on supersports in 1997. Of the driver deaths on public roadways in 2006, about 1 percent occurred on motorcycles designed for exclusively off-road use. The proportion of motorcycles that could not be classified has decreased substantially over these years.

Fatally injured motorcycle drivers by motorcycle type, 1997-2006
	Cruiser/standard		Touring		Sport/unclad sport		Supersport		Off-road		Other/unknown		Total
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1997	559	30	164	9	200	11	352	19	22	1	581	31	1,878
1998	629	31	168	8	208	10	401	20	31	2	589	29	2,026
1999	716	32	203	9	229	10	486	22	35	2	554	25	2,223
2000	897	35	250	10	282	11	551	21	36	1	575	22	2,591
2001	971	34	292	10	339	12	685	24	43	1	556	19	2,886
2002	1,013	34	365	12	323	11	680	23	42	1	529	18	2,952
2003	1,192	35	394	12	399	12	821	24	56	2	496	15	3,358
2004	1,241	35	439	12	449	12	914	25	75	2	475	13	3,593
2005	1,515	37	514	12	463	11	1,073	26	60	1	517	12	4,142
2006	1,538	35	548	12	462	11	1,254	29	45	1	539	12	4,386

Seventy percent of fatally injured drivers of cruisers or standards in 2006 were at least 40 years of age, compared with 88 percent of touring bike drivers. Sixty-nine percent of fatally injured supersport drivers in 2006 were under age 30.

Fatally injured motorcycle drivers by age and motorcycle type, 2006
	<30		30-39		40-49		50+		Total*
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Cruiser/standard	170	11	294	19	524	34	550	36	1,538
Touring	11	2	54	10	181	33	301	55	548
Sport/unclad sport	213	46	138	30	75	16	36	8	462
Supersport	861	69	308	25	71	6	13	1	1,254
Off-road	29	64	12	27	4	9	0	0	45
Other/unknown	123	23	111	21	133	25	172	32	539
Total	1,407	32	917	21	988	23	1,072	24	4,386
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Seventy percent of fatally injured supersport drivers and 68 percent of sport/unclad sport drivers were helmeted in 2006. Only 51 percent of fatally injured drivers of cruisers and standards were helmeted.

Helmet use of fatally injured motorcycle drivers by motorcycle type, 2006
	No helmet		Helmet		Unknown		Total
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Cruiser/standard	718	47	780	51	40	3	1,538
Touring	238	43	295	54	15	3	548
Sport/unclad sport	136	29	316	68	10	2	462
Supersport	339	27	883	70	32	3	1,254
Off-road	32	71	11	24	2	4	45
Other	33	38	50	57	4	5	87
Unknown	227	50	203	45	22	5	452
Total	1,723	39	2,538	58	125	3	4,386

When and where they died

Seventy percent of motorcyclist deaths in 2006 occurred during the six months of April-September. Fatalities peaked during July and were lowest during December-February.

Motorcyclist deaths by month, 2006
Month	Deaths	%
January	177	4
February	156	3
March	278	6
April	457	10
May	553	12
June	569	12
July	628	13
August	574	12
September	524	11
October	333	7
November	280	6
December	168	4
Total	4,697	100

Fifty-eight percent of motorcyclist deaths in 2006 occurred during Friday-Sunday.

Motorcyclist deaths by day of week, 2006
Day of Week	Deaths	%
Sunday	1,004	21
Monday	451	10
Tuesday	450	10
Wednesday	518	11
Thursday	547	12
Friday	705	15
Saturday	1,022	22
Total*	4,697	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-two percent of motorcyclist deaths in 2006 occurred between 3pm and 9pm. Another 28 percent occurred between 9pm and 6am.

Motorcyclist deaths by time of day, 2006
Time of Day	Deaths	%
midnight - 3am	477	10
3am - 6am	153	3
6am - 9am	250	5
9am - noon	376	8
noon - 3pm	768	16
3pm - 6pm	984	21
6pm - 9pm	980	21
9pm - midnight	683	15
Total*	4,697	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

More than half of motorcyclist deaths in 2006 occurred on major roads other than interstates and freeways.

Motorcyclist deaths by location of crash, 2006
Road Type	Urban		Rural		Total*
Road Type	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Interstates and freeways	435	9	104	2	539	11
Other major roads	1,192	25	1,448	31	2,640	56
Minor roads	789	17	607	13	1,396	30
Total*	2,427	52	2,190	47	4,697	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Alcohol involvement

Twenty-seven percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers in 2006 had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08 percent; among single-vehicle crashes this was 41 percent.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers with high BACs by crash type, 2006
Crash type	Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.15
Crash type	Num	Num	%	Num	%
Single-vehicle	1,921	779	41	489	25
Multiple-vehicle	2,459	415	17	223	9
All Crashes*	4,386	1,196	27	712	16
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Fifty-two percent of motorcycle drivers killed at night (9pm - 6am) in 2006 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers with high BACs by time of day, 2006
Time of day	Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.15
Time of day	Num	Num	%	Num	%
Nighttime (9pm - 6am)	1,215	634	52	393	32
Other times	3,171	562	18	319	10
Total	4,386	1,196	27	712	16

References

¹National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2007. Traffic safety facts, 2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.

²Preusser, D.F.; Williams, A.F.; and Ulmer, R.G. 1995. Analysis of fatal motorcycle crashes: crash typing. Accident Analysis and Prevention 27:845-51.

³Deutermann, W. 2004. Motorcycle helmet effectiveness revisited. Report no. DOT HS-809-715 Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.

⁴National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 1996. Motorcycle helmets: the facts of life. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation.

⁵Sosin, D.M.; Sacks, J.J.; and Holmgreen, P. 1990. Head injury-associated deaths from motorcycle crashes: relationship to helmet use laws. Journal of the American Medical Association 264:2395-99.

⁶Preusser, D.F.; Hedlund, J.H.; and Ulmer, R.G. 2000. Evaluation of motorcycle helmet law repeal in Arkansas and Texas. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation

⁷Kyrychenko, S.Y. and McCartt, A.T. 2006 Florida weakened motorcycle helmet law: effects on death rates in motorcycle crashes. Traffic Injury Prevention 7:55-60.

⁸Ulmer, D.G. and Northrup, V.S. 2005. Evaluation of the repeal of the all-rider motorcycle helmet law in Florida. Report no. DOT HS 809 849. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation

⁹McSwain, N.E., Jr. and Willey, A.B. 1984. The impact of reenactment of the motorcycle helmet law in Louisiana. Report no. DOT HS 806 760. Washington, DC: U.S. Departement of Transportation.