Recent Trends in Fatal Motorcycle Crashes

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) 2001 data, while total traffic deaths in the United States increased by four tenths of a percent (+0.4%) from previous year, motorcycle deaths were up by 10 percent. Motorcyclist fatalities increased for the fourth year in a row since reaching a historic low of 2,116 fatalities in 1997. In 2001, 3,181 motorcyclists were killed, an increase of 1,065 fatalities (or over 50 percent) between 1997 and 2001. Without this substantial increase in motorcyclist fatalities between 1997 and 2001, overall highway fatalities would have experienced a marked reduction of about 2.5 percent over this same time frame. This paper presents information from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) on fatal motorcycle crashes relating to trends between 1990-2001. The paper also looks at the gain in popularity of motorcycles by comparing the sales data, demographic changes relating to the shifting trends in the age of ownership and engine size of motorcycles. The analysis focuses on how the demographic changes in the age of ownership and engine size of motorcycles have affected the motorcycle crashes. Fatality rates are calculated using exposure data based on vehicle miles traveled, and registered motorcycles.