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FATALITY FACTS 2009

Motorcycles

Motorcycles are less stable and less visible than cars and often have high performance capabilities. When motorcycles crash, their riders lack the protection of an enclosed vehicle, so they're more likely to be injured or killed. The federal government estimates that per mile traveled in 2007, the number of deaths on motorcycles was about 37 times the number in cars. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2009. Traffic safety facts, 2008. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation.

Because serious head injury is common among fatally injured motorcyclists, helmet use is important. Helmets are about 37 percent effective in preventing motorcycle deaths Deutermann, W. 2004. Motorcycle helmet effectiveness revisited. Report no. DOT HS-809-715. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. and about 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries. Yet only 20 states and the District of Columbia mandate helmet use by all riders. Death rates from head injuries have been shown to be twice as high among motorcyclists in states with no helmet laws or laws that apply only to young riders, compared with states where laws apply to all riders. Sosin, D.M.; Sacks, J.J.; and Holmgreen, P. 1990. Head injury-associated deaths from motorcycle crashes: relationship to helmet use laws. Journal of the American Medical Association 264:2395-99. During the past decade several states have repealed or weakened their helmet laws. Repealing or weakening helmet laws so they don't apply to all riders has been followed by increases in deaths. Preusser, D.F.; Hedlund, J.H.; and Ulmer, R.G. 2000. Evaluation of motorcycle helmet law repeal in Arkansas and Texas. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ulmer, D.G. and Northrup, V.S. 2005. Evaluation of the repeal of the all-rider motorcycle helmet law in Florida. Report no. DOT HS-809-849. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In contrast, benefits return when helmet laws applying to all riders are reinstated. McSwain, N.E., Jr. and Willey, A.B. 1984. The impact of reenactment of the motorcycle helmet law in Louisiana. Report no. DOT HS-806-760. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Data subsections:

Trends Age and gender Motorcycle type and engine size When and where they died Alcohol involvement

Trends

A total of 4,281 motorcyclists died in crashes in 2009. Motorcyclist deaths had been declining since the early 1980s but began to increase in 1998 and continued to increase through 2008. Motorcyclist deaths decreased by 16 percent in 2009 compared to 2008, but still accounted for 13 percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths in 2009. In contrast, at 23,437, fewer passenger vehicle occupants died in crashes in 2009 than in any year since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began collecting fatal crash data in 1975.

Passenger vehicle occupant deaths and motorcyclist deaths, 1975-2009

Passenger vehicle occupant and motorcyclist deaths as a percentage of all motor vehicle crash deaths, 1975-2009
Year	Passenger vehicle occupant deaths		Motorcyclist deaths		All motor vehicle deaths
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	30,601	69	3,106	7	44,525
1976	31,724	70	3,232	7	45,523
1977	32,823	69	4,004	8	47,878
1978	34,923	69	4,448	9	50,331
1979	35,026	69	4,712	9	51,093
1980	34,996	68	4,955	10	51,091
1981	33,711	68	4,737	10	49,301
1982	29,656	67	4,267	10	43,945
1983	29,154	68	4,099	10	42,589
1984	30,093	68	4,425	10	44,257
1985	29,847	68	4,415	10	43,825
1986	32,224	70	4,309	9	46,087
1987	33,145	71	3,832	8	46,390
1988	34,105	72	3,491	7	47,087
1989	33,599	74	3,030	7	45,582
1990	32,711	73	3,128	7	44,599
1991	30,810	74	2,702	7	41,508
1992	29,457	75	2,291	6	39,250
1993	29,994	75	2,346	6	40,150
1994	30,820	76	2,215	5	40,716
1995	31,913	76	2,138	5	41,817
1996	32,354	77	2,077	5	42,065
1997	32,343	77	2,056	5	42,013
1998	31,781	77	2,227	5	41,501
1999	32,008	77	2,419	6	41,717
2000	32,109	77	2,829	7	41,945
2001	31,938	76	3,123	7	42,196
2002	32,724	76	3,187	7	43,005
2003	32,166	75	3,641	8	42,884
2004	31,750	74	3,904	9	42,836
2005	31,455	72	4,460	10	43,510
2006	30,628	72	4,699	11	42,708
2007	29,155	71	5,050	12	41,259
2008	25,547	68	5,112	14	37,423
2009	23,437	69	4,281	13	33,808

In 2009, fatally injured motorcycle drivers were less likely to be operating without a valid driver's license than in 2000 (22 percent vs. 27 percent). However, the rate of unlicensed fatally injured motorcycle drivers in 2009 was still higher than the rate of unlicensed fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers (14 percent).

Passenger vehicle and motorcycle driver deaths by driver's license status, 2000-2009
Year	Passenger vehicle drivers					Motorcycle drivers
	No valid license		Valid license		Total*	No valid license		Valid license		Total*
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	%	Num
2000	3,127	15	18,454	85	21,819	730	27	1,841	71	2,591
2001	2,977	13	18,628	85	21,862	799	27	2,064	72	2,886
2002	3,279	15	19,032	84	22,537	763	25	2,167	73	2,952
2003	3,123	14	18,863	85	22,200	837	25	2,504	75	3,358
2004	3,024	14	18,726	85	21,952	866	24	2,702	75	3,593
2005	3,154	15	18,572	85	21,953	1,002	24	3,116	75	4,142
2006	3,423	16	17,941	83	21,592	1,134	26	3,219	73	4,387
2007	3,206	15	17,142	83	20,542	1,239	26	3,461	73	4,740
2008	2,702	15	15,399	84	18,266	1,190	24	3,561	74	4,782
2009	2,391	14	14,247	85	16,791	881	22	3,073	77	3,982
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Forty-five percent of motorcyclist deaths in 2009 occurred in single-vehicle crashes, and 55 percent occurred in multiple-vehicle crashes.

Motorcyclist deaths by crash type, 2009
Crash type	Deaths	%
Single-vehicle	1,913	45
Multiple-vehicle	2,366	55
All crashes*	4,281	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2009, 56 percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers were helmeted. Helmet use was lower, at 42 percent, for people killed as passengers on motorcycles.

Helmet use of fatally injured motorcycle drivers and passengers, 2009
	No helmet		Helmet		Unknown		Total
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Driver	1,640	41	2,240	56	102	3	3,982	100
Passenger	166	56	126	42	7	2	299	100
Total*	1,806	42	2,366	55	109	3	4,281	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2009, 85 percent of fatally injured motorcyclists were helmeted in states with helmet laws that cover all riders, in contrast to only 20 percent in states with no helmet law. In states with helmet laws that cover only some riders, 35 percent of fatally injured motorcyclists were helmeted.

Helmet use of fatally injured motorcyclists by helmet law status, 2009
	No helmet		Helmet		Unknown		Total
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
No law	151	77	39	20	5	3	195
Partial law	1,426	62	801	35	66	3	2,293
Universal law	229	13	1,526	85	38	2	1,793
Total	1,806	42	2,366	55	109	3	4,281

Age and gender

In the early 1980s the proportion of fatally injured motorcyclists 40 and older started to increase, rising from 9 percent of all rider deaths in 1982 to 15 percent in 1991 and 54 percent in 2009.

Percentage of motorcyclist deaths by age, 1975-2009

Motorcyclist deaths by age, 1975-2009
Year	≤ 29		30-39		40-49		≥ 50		Total*
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	2,475	80	419	13	129	4	79	3	3,106
1976	2,565	79	426	13	142	4	97	3	3,232
1977	3,211	80	529	13	147	4	112	3	4,004
1978	3,557	80	603	14	177	4	104	2	4,448
1979	3,627	77	729	15	212	4	138	3	4,712
1980	3,641	73	896	18	265	5	149	3	4,955
1981	3,487	74	840	18	255	5	146	3	4,737
1982	3,082	72	790	19	247	6	138	3	4,267
1983	2,959	72	765	19	234	6	135	3	4,099
1984	3,171	72	813	18	263	6	165	4	4,425
1985	3,160	72	849	19	238	5	163	4	4,415
1986	3,034	70	877	20	257	6	131	3	4,309
1987	2,588	68	831	22	275	7	138	4	3,832
1988	2,309	66	757	22	278	8	146	4	3,491
1989	1,873	62	735	24	283	9	136	4	3,030
1990	1,885	60	805	26	265	8	173	6	3,128
1991	1,580	58	711	26	283	10	127	5	2,702
1992	1,242	54	638	28	268	12	143	6	2,291
1993	1,229	52	647	28	324	14	145	6	2,346
1994	1,121	51	584	26	338	15	171	8	2,215
1995	1,057	49	562	26	347	16	172	8	2,138
1996	932	45	541	26	408	20	196	9	2,077
1997	837	41	547	27	396	19	276	13	2,056
1998	897	40	599	27	465	21	265	12	2,227
1999	878	36	601	25	564	23	376	16	2,419
2000	986	35	696	25	666	24	476	17	2,829
2001	1,108	35	789	25	715	23	509	16	3,123
2002	1,022	32	767	24	758	24	638	20	3,187
2003	1,161	32	829	23	887	24	763	21	3,641
2004	1,256	32	853	22	946	24	849	22	3,904
2005	1,405	32	963	22	1,003	22	1,088	24	4,460
2006	1,495	32	984	21	1,085	23	1,134	24	4,699
2007	1,547	31	1,033	20	1,148	23	1,317	26	5,050
2008	1,580	31	964	19	1,135	22	1,431	28	5,112
2009	1,134	26	831	19	980	23	1,333	31	4,281
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Ninety percent of motorcyclists killed in 2009 were males.

Motorcyclist deaths by age and gender, 2009
Age	Male		Female		Total*
Age	Num	%	Num	%	Num
< 16	13	76	4	24	17
16-19	108	86	17	14	125
20-24	476	91	46	9	522
25-29	448	95	22	5	470
30-34	348	93	28	7	376
35-39	405	89	50	11	455
40-44	401	86	66	14	467
45-49	453	88	60	12	513
50-54	445	89	55	11	500
55-59	346	90	37	10	383
60-69	346	94	24	6	370
≥ 70	75	94	5	6	80
Total*	3,865	90	416	10	4,281
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Sixty-five percent of the females who died in motorcycle crashes in 2009 were passengers, and their deaths represented 90 percent of the passenger deaths. Ninety-nine percent of the males who died were drivers.

Motorcyclist deaths by person type and gender, 2009
Person type	Male		Female
Person type	Num	%	Num	%
Driver	3,836	99	146	35
Passenger	29	1	270	65
Total*	3,865	100	416	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Motorcycle type and engine size

Engine sizes of motorcycles whose drivers were killed in crashes went up dramatically in the last few years. Among motorcycle drivers killed in 2009, 29 percent drove motorcycles with engine size larger than 1,400 cc, compared to 9 percent in 2000 and less than 1 percent in 1990.

Percentage of motorcycle driver deaths by motorcycle engine size, 1985-2009

Motorcycle driver deaths by motorcycle engine size, 1985-2009
Year	0-1,000 cc		1,001-1,400 cc		> 1,400 cc		Total*
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1985	2,649	68	613	16	0	0	3,896
1986	2,734	72	620	16	0	0	3,790
1987	2,441	72	601	18	0	0	3,409
1988	2,149	68	615	20	6	<1	3,139
1989	1,831	68	539	20	3	<1	2,682
1990	1,895	68	619	22	5	<1	2,790
1991	1,632	68	545	23	13	1	2,404
1992	1,351	65	517	25	7	<1	2,079
1993	1,330	63	582	27	11	1	2,120
1994	1,199	60	533	27	15	1	1,995
1995	1,174	61	564	29	22	1	1,939
1996	1,102	59	546	29	36	2	1,881
1997	1,053	56	612	33	33	2	1,878
1998	1,140	56	648	32	46	2	2,026
1999	1,073	48	644	29	98	4	2,223
2000	1,341	52	779	30	234	9	2,591
2001	1,540	53	780	27	309	11	2,886
2002	1,475	50	737	25	482	16	2,952
2003	1,620	48	829	25	612	18	3,358
2004	1,775	49	813	23	721	20	3,593
2005	2,069	50	928	22	861	21	4,142
2006	2,179	50	860	20	1,014	23	4,387
2007	2,395	51	917	19	1,117	24	4,740
2008	2,319	48	874	18	1,238	26	4,782
2009	1,798	45	733	18	1,136	29	3,982
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Among the motorcycles whose drivers were killed in 2009, 84 percent of touring bikes had engines larger than 1,400 cc, while 98 percent of off-road bikes and 96 percent of supersport bikes had engines of sizes 1,000 cc or smaller.

Fatally injured motorcycle drivers by motorcycle type and engine size, 2009
	0-1,000 cc		1,001-1,400 cc		> 1,400 cc		Total *
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Cruiser/standard	380	26	424	29	645	44	1,463
Touring	2	<1	87	15	485	84	574
Sport-touring	6	22	19	70	0	0	27
Sport/unclad sport	235	59	136	34	0	0	398
Supersport	950	96	22	2	0	0	989
Off-road	55	98	0	0	0	0	56
Other/unknown	170	36	45	9	6	1	475
Total	1,798	45	733	18	1,136	29	3,982
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Seventy-four percent of fatally injured drivers of cruisers or standards in 2009 were at least 40 years old, compared with 91 percent of touring bike drivers. In contrast, 64 percent of off-road bike drivers and 61 percent of fatally injured supersport drivers in 2009 were younger than 30.

Fatally injured motorcycle drivers by age and motorcycle type, 2009
	< 30		30-39		40-49		50+		Total *
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Cruiser/standard	142	10	234	16	446	30	641	44	1,463
Touring	9	2	44	8	149	26	372	65	574
Sport-touring	1	4	2	7	11	41	13	48	27
Sport/unclad sport	166	42	120	30	77	19	35	9	398
Supersport	606	61	268	27	83	8	32	3	989
Off-road	36	64	11	20	8	14	1	2	56
Other/unknown	93	20	93	20	125	26	164	35	475
Total	1,053	26	772	19	899	23	1,258	32	3,982
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

At 78 percent, helmet use was highest among fatally injured drivers of sport-touring motorcycles in 2009. Seventy-three percent of fatally injured supersport drivers and sport/unclad sport drivers were helmeted in 2009. About half of fatally injured drivers of touring motorcycles and of cruisers or standards were helmeted.

Helmet use of fatally injured motorcycle drivers by motorcycle type, 2009
	No helmet		Helmet		Unknown		Total
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
Cruiser/standard	738	50	683	47	42	3	1,463
Touring	279	49	279	49	16	3	574
Sport-touring	6	22	21	78	0	0	27
Sport/unclad sport	97	24	289	73	12	3	398
Supersport	247	25	724	73	18	2	989
Off-road	46	82	10	18	0	0	56
Other	32	29	78	70	2	2	112
Unknown	195	54	156	43	12	3	363
Total	1,640	41	2,240	56	102	3	3,982

When and where they died

Seventy-one percent of motorcyclist deaths in 2009 occurred during the six months of April-September. Fatalities peaked during July and August and were lowest during December-February.

Motorcyclist deaths by month, 2009
Month	Deaths	%
January	126	3
February	192	4
March	268	6
April	423	10
May	532	12
June	524	12
July	559	13
August	554	13
September	461	11
October	289	7
November	256	6
December	97	2
Total	4,281	100

Fifty percent of motorcyclist deaths in 2009 occurred on weekends, and those were more likely to occur after 6pm compared to weekdays.

Motorcyclist deaths by time of day, 2009
	Weekend (6pm Friday-6am Monday)		Other times		Total
	Num	%	Num	%	Total
Midnight-3am	237	11	170	7	407
3am-6am	75	4	71	3	146
6am-9am	55	3	168	8	223
9am-noon	176	8	200	9	376
Noon-3pm	333	16	365	16	698
3pm-6pm	406	19	488	23	894
6pm-9pm	519	24	374	17	893
9pm-midnight	345	16	274	12	619
Total*	2,153	100	2,128	100	4,281
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

More than half of motorcyclist deaths in 2009 occurred on major roads other than interstates and freeways.

Motorcyclist deaths by location of crash, 2009
Road type	Urban		Rural		Total*
Road type	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Interstates and freeways	446	10	118	3	564	13
Other major roads	981	23	1,369	32	2,350	55
Minor roads	695	16	618	14	1,313	31
Total*	2,130	50	2,123	50	4,281	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Alcohol involvement

Thirty percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers in 2009 had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08 percent; in single-vehicle crashes this was 42 percent.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers with high BACs by crash type, 2009
Crash type	Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.15
Crash type	Num	Num	%	Num	%
Single-vehicle	1,791	744	42	465	26
Multiple-vehicle	2,189	438	20	254	12
All crashes*	3,982	1,184	30	720	18
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Fifty-four percent of motorcycle drivers killed at night (9pm-6am) in 2009 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured motorcycle drivers with high BACs by time of day, 2009
Time of day	Deaths	Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.08		Estimated deaths with BACs ≥ 0.15
Time of day	Num	Num	%	Num	%
Nighttime (9pm-6am)	1,087	588	54	374	34
Other times	2,895	595	21	346	12
Total	3,982	1,184	30	720	18