Motorcycle fatalities down 7% in 2013
 

Filed under: Safety, Motorcycle

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Riding a motorcycle provides the thrill of the open road in a way cars often can't compete with. However with little protecting riders, they aren't the safest choice of transportation. A preliminary report from Governors Highway Safety Association indicates that cycle fatalities might be lower in 2013 than 2012, but the reason has nothing to do with the bikes.

The study looked at motorcycle fatality data for the whole country, from January through September 2013. It projects that the final figure for deaths will be down 7 percent in 2013 to 4,610, compared to 4,957 in 2012 and 4,612 in 2011. Lethal crashes fell in 35 states in 2013, increased in 13 states and remained the same in 2. This is only the second time there has been a year-over-year decrease since 1997.

The reason for the lower fatalities isn't that motorcycles are suddenly safer. The report postulates that weather was the defining factor in the decrease. The climate in 2012 was significantly warmer and drier than average for much of the year compared to 2011 or 2013, which led to an increase in riders. Last year, it returned to normal, and it kept people in many regions off their bikes.

While fatalities are down slightly, motorcycle safety is about the same as it was in 1997, the year with the fewest cycle deaths. In '97, there were 2,116 cycle deaths and about 3.8 million bikes on the road for a mortality rate of 5.53 per 10,000 motorcycles. Final 2011 data showed 4,612 fatal crashes and about 8.4 million bikes for a rate of 5.46 per 10,000. In the same time, the rate for passenger vehicles has gone from 1.7 in '97 to 0.89 in '11.

To actually make motorcycles safer, the GHSA has multiple recommendations, but the biggest among them is mandatory helmet laws. While many riders don't like them, the protective gear has been shown to increase survival rates by over a third.

In a year, it will be interesting to see if this year's cool conditions show a further drop in fatalities. Scroll down to read the press release about the study from the GHSA or dig into the whole, 23-page report as a PDF, here.Continue reading Motorcycle fatalities down 7% in 2013

Motorcycle fatalities down 7% in 2013 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 May 2014 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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Like the guys on Top Gear said, the way to make biking safer is to stop being from doing it. ha ha