Home 9 Motorcycle Accidents 9 Motorcycles are deadly, and it’s not really getting better

Motorcycles are deadly, and it’s not really getting better

Motor vehicles, in general, are one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Everyone takes a risk nearly every day, just driving to work. However, the stats show that motorcycles are certainly one of the deadliest vehicles to use. Moreover, the trend has not really been getting better with time.

When you look at cars, there is a clear downward trend in deadly accidents. Even as the population goes up, cars are getting safer. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 30,601 deaths in passenger vehicles back in 1975. In the same year, there were 3,106 deaths involving motorcycles.

Deaths in cars did climb to 35,026 in the next few years, but then they started dropping. Everything sort of moves in waves, but the highest they’ve hit since was 34,105 in 1988. They’d fallen to 29,155 by 2007 and hit a low of 21,102 in 2014.

Motorcycles also saw highs and lows, moving in similar waves, but there is definitely not the same downward trend. They hit a high of 4,955 in 1980, then dropped to 2,056 in 1997. By 2008, though, they had climbed all the way to 5,112, which was far higher than the amount back in 1975. In 2014, when car-related deaths were as low as they’d ever been, there were 4,295 deaths on motorcycles.

While the total amount of motorcycle fatalities will always be lower since there are far fewer bikes, it is clear that they are still claiming as many lives as they ever have. If you have lost a loved one, be sure you know how to seek compensation.

Source: IIHS, “Motorcycles and ATVs | 2014,” accessed Oct. 23, 2016

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