The 11 Biggest Motorcycle Accident Predictors

Michigan motorcycle accident lawyer cites no helmets, drinking, and larger engines as big predictors of motorcycle accidents

Here is a list of the most common motorcycle accident predictors from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This list of common motorcycle crash predictors contains no big surprises for motorcycle accident lawyers, Hopefully the safeguards recommended by NHTSA can help save lives and prevent crashes.

Motorcycle Accident Predictors

• Males - Over the last 10 years, 90 percent of motorcyclists killed were male.
• Mostly Caucasians - The majority of motorcycle riders killed were Caucasian (77 percent), followed by African-American (9 percent), Hispanic (7 percent) and Native American (1 percent).
• Motorcyclists over 40 - Two-thirds of motorcyclists killed on 1,001-1,500 cc engine size motorcycles were riders over 40.
• Bikers with bigger engines - The largest number of motorcycle fatalities (41 percent) is still in the 501-1,000 cc engine size group, followed by 38 percent in the 1,001-1,500 cc engine size group.
• Motorcycle drivers - The majority of those killed in motorcycle crashes were motorcycle drivers (90 percent), while motorcycle passenger fatalities have been constant at 10 percent for several years.

What turns injury accidents into fatalities?

• No motorcycle helmets - 45 percent of fatally injured motorcyclists did not wear their helmets.
• Drinking and driving motorcyclists - 27 percent of all fatally injured motorcycle drivers had BAC levels of .08 g/dL. And an additional 7 percent had lower blood alcohol levels.
• Single-vehicle motorcycle crashes - 41 percent of the 1,878 motorcycle operators who died in single vehicle crashes in 2005 had BAC levels of .08 g/dL or higher. 61 percent of those killed in single vehicle crashes on weekend nights had BAC .08 g/dL or higher.

When are motorcycle accidents occurring?

• Weekend motorcycle accidents - Twice as many motorcycle accident fatalities occurred on weekends.
• When there's an invalid motorcycle license - Nearly one out of four motorcycle drivers (24 percent) involved in fatal motorcycle accidents were operating their vehicles with invalid licenses at the time of the crash.
• Multi-vehicle motorcycle accidents - Motorcyclists are more likely to be killed when there are crashes involving more than one vehicle; 55 percent were killed in multi-vehicle crashes.

- Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Action Plan to Reduce Motorcycle Accident Fatalities, based on motorcycle accident injury and fatality statistics from 2005

- Steven M. Gursten received the highest reported Michigan motorcycle accident settlement in 2010, according to Michigan Lawyers Weekly legal newspaper. Michigan Auto Law is the largest law firm in Michigan exclusively handling car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights.

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