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FHWA Safety: First graphic from left courtesy of (http://www.pedbikeimages.org/Dan Burden)
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Community Resources: Motorcycle Safety

FACTS ABOUT MOTORCYCLE SAFETY

  • Between 2002 and 2007, U.S. motorcyclist fatalities increased by 57%, from 3,276 to 5,154.
  • In 2007, there was a 7% annual increase in motorcycle fatalities (from 4837 in 2006).
  • An estimated 142,000 motorcyclists have died in traffic crashes since the enactment of the Highway Safety and National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.
  • There were 103,000 motorcyclists injured during 2007.
  • Motorcycles made up nearly 3 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States in 2006, and accounted for only 0.4 percent of all vehicle miles traveled, but account for 13% of all highway fatalities, 14% of all occupant fatalities, and 4 % of all occupants injured.
  • Per vehicle mile traveled in 2006, motorcyclists were about 35 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle traffic crash and 8 times more likely to be injured. 
  • Per registered vehicle, the fatality rate for motorcyclists in 2006 was 5.5 times the fatality rate for passenger car occupants. 
  • The injury rate for motorcyclists was 1.2 times the injury rate for passenger car occupants.

MOTORCYCLE SAFETY PROGRAM PLANNING RESOURCES

  • Improving Motorcycle Safety and Increasing Motorcycle Awareness

    The FHWA has teamed with the AASHTO Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety (SCOHTS), DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Transportation Research Board's (TRB's) Committee on Transportation Safety Management to develop a strategic plan for highway safety. The plan comprises 22 emphasis areas, including motorcycle safety. As part of this effort, a motorcycle safety guidebook entitled Improving Motorcycle Safety and Increasing Motorcycle Awareness is being developed.

  • NHTSA's Motorcycle Safety Program

    NHTSA's Motorcycle Safety Program partnered with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) to develop the National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety in 1997. NHTSA's Motorcycle Safety Program aligns with the National Agenda on some efforts, but also focuses on more recent trends, such as the rise in rural versus urban fatalities and deaths among older riders on larger motorcycles.

FHWA MOTORCYCLE SAFETY CONTACT

 
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