As of 2007, there were 7.1 million motorcycles on the road in the United States.
The number of motorcyclist crash-related fatalities has more than doubled during the past 10 years. In the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) P.L. 109-59, Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a comprehensive study of the causes of motorcycle crashes.
According to The Hurt Report, a comprehensive motorcycle safety study published in 1981, approximately three-fourths of motorcycle accidents involved collision with another vehicle, which was usually a passenger automobile.
Approximately one-fourth of motorcycle accidents were single vehicle accidents involving the motorcycle colliding with the roadway or some fixed object in the environment.
Vehicle failure accounted for less than 3% of motorcycle accidents, and most of those were single vehicle accidents where control was lost due to a puncture flat.
In the single vehicle accidents, motorcycle rider error was present as the accident precipitating factor in about two-thirds of the cases, with the typical error being a slide-out and fall due to over-braking or running wide on a curve due to excess speed or under-cornering.
Although dated, these statistics apply just as much today as they did then.
Motorcycle accidents can be caused by a number of factors, including:
- Road Hazards
- Distracted or impaired driving,
- Driving conditions
- Poor Weather
- Negligence of other drivers
- Road conditions
- Speed
- Driving under the influence