Motorcyclist Fatalities Decrease

MRF, WASHINGTON, DC (April 22, 2010) --- The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) released a report today on motorcyclist fatalities. The report claims that motorcyclist fatalities are down 16 percent for the first 3 quarters of 2009 and about 10 percent for the year. This is the first significant decrease in over a decade.

The decrease in fatalities is not a function of people riding less. Vehicle miles traveled for motorcycles is down one to two percent (the number varies regionally). Miles traveled have also increased in some areas where people are swapping gas guzzler cars for small, efficient motorcycles in order to stretch their pennies as far as possible. After all, motorcycles are the single most affordable form of private transportation available to Americans.

In fact, the only addition to motorcycle safety on a national level is the motorcycle safety grant program signed into law in 2005. The program, the brain child of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), sends federal highway dollars back to the States earmarked for rider education programs and motorcycle awareness campaigns. It is of course the good work done on a state by state basis, largely by motorcyclists, that ultimately deserves credit for this reduction in loss of life.

With the increasing numbers of new and returning riders, and concern over single vehicle motorcycle crashes, rider education and training is the only proactive measure that can truly assist motorcyclists in preventing crashes. Studies have indicated that more than 90% of accident involved riders were without formal training.

The next question is - how do you maintain the reduction? Helmet law proponents will use this as a stepping stone to put a mandatory helmet law in place. They will point to the law as the logical next step, which it is not. We were able to achieve this reduction without a national helmet law and we can continue the trend without it. Keeping the numbers down will only be possible through quality rider education and motorist/motorcycle awareness campaigns. And of course continue the MRF’s position; focus on crash avoidance and not simply safer crashing and we will save lives.

Read the full report here.

Report shows motorcycling deaths dropped sharply in 2009

AMA, PICKERINGTON, Ohio (April 22, 2010) -- A just-released report shows that motorcycling fatalities nationwide dropped by at least 10 percent in 2009, which is the first decline in 12 years, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.

Based on preliminary data, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which represents the state highway safety offices nationwide, projects that motorcycling deaths declined from 5,290 in 2008 to 4,762 or fewer in 2009. The projection is based on data collected from the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The report, released April 22, is based on a survey of GHSA members, who reported fatality numbers for their states. The GHSA notes that while data are still preliminary, most states have final fatality counts for at least nine months of 2009, giving GHSA confidence to predict that the death count will be down by at least 10 percent for the year.

The GHSA cautioned that the report only involves one year, so it's too soon to predict a steady decline.

"We will need to see three to five years of decline before we are ready to say that a positive trend has developed," said GHSA Chairman Vernon Betkey.

In fact, the report points out that fatalities have significantly decreased in the past but then rose again. For example, from 1980 to 1997 motorcycling fatalities dropped by almost 60 percent. But then fatalities increased steadily from 1997 through 2008.

2,294 motorcyclists were killed in 1998, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which gathers its data from the same sources as the GHSA. That number increased steadily each year, reaching 5,290 in 2008.

"The death of any motorcyclist is one too many, so this news that fatalities are down is encouraging," said Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations. "While we are pleased that the number of motorcycling fatalities dropped dramatically in 2009, we need to see that trend continue."

Moreland cautioned that there will be speculation about why the numbers are down so significantly in 2009, and noted that there aren't any solid answers.

"The motorcycling community looks forward to getting some real answers about motorcycle crashes and what causes them from the new federal crash causation study that is getting under way," Moreland said. "Then we can put our heads together to find solutions, reduce crashes and save more lives."

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) formally announced the new crash causation study on Oct. 5. The FHWA is overseeing the four-year, $3 million study, which is being conducted by Oklahoma State University through the Oklahoma Transportation Center in Stillwater, Okla.

The last major study into the causes of motorcycle crashes was issued in January 1981. Called "Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures Volume I: Technical Report," the study became known as the "Hurt Report" after lead researcher Harry Hurt of the University of Southern California. Hurt was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2007 for his pioneering work.

That study provided a wealth of data that has been used by organizations and individual motorcyclists to help keep riders safer on the road. But the traffic environment has changed enormously in the decades since, prompting the AMA to begin campaigning for a new study several years ago.