Motorcycle Safety

During the last decade, motorcycle sales have been on the rise. The increase in ridership has led to a rise in motorcycle crashes. The good news is that motorcycle fatalities decreased for the first time in over a decade in 2009. Unfortunately, the number of motorcycle deaths more than doubled between 1997 (2,116) and 2009 (4,462). Motorcycle deaths account for 13 percent of all motor vehicle crash fatalities, even though motorcycles were only 3 percent of all registered vehicles in 2009. State legislatures, federal agencies, traffic safety groups and other organizations have considered how to best address the steady increase in fatalities with stricter requirements for rider training and licensing, use of helmets and other protective equipment.