Motorcycle Accident Statistics

About three quarters of motorcycle accidents are a result of a collision with another vehicle. Around one quarter of the motorcycle accidents involve one car and the motorcycle colliding with the roadway. There really is a very low rate of accidents where vehicle failure is involved. In about two thirds of the motorcycle accidents rider error was the primary cause. The biggest errors were caused by over breaking and excess speed.

A very miniscule percent of motorcycle accidents were a result of roadway defects and animals. In motorcycle accidents that involved multiple vehicles, in two thirds of the cases the other driver caused the accident by violating the cyclist’s right of way. The biggest reason for motorcycle accidents is that drivers fail to observe motorcycles in traffic resulting in the majority of collisions.

The most common place for a motorcycle accident to occur is at an intersection where usually another car will violate the cyclist’s right-of-way. In almost 100 percent of motorcycle accidents, statistics indicate that weather is not a factor. Oddly enough, most motorcycle accidents also occur on short trips such as daily errands rather than on long ventures. When speed was a factor, the median or average speed prior to the crash was 29.8 mph and the median crash speed was 21.5 mph.

Almost all motorcycle accidents occur with male motorcycle riders and almost all motorcycle accidents involved riders without training or that were self-taught. It is proven that rider training reduces the risk of accidents significantly. Over half of the motorcycle riders that were involved in accidents had been riding for less than five months. A large portion of motorcycle accidents occur because someone is not paying attention and almost half of motorcycle fatalities involved alcohol.