How to fatal motorcycle accidents compare to other vehicles?

In Pennsylvania, sharing the road can also mean sharing responsibility for keeping yourself and the drivers around you safe. This is especially important because not every vehicle offers the same amount of protection. For example, a tractor-trailer driver might have a better chance of getting out of an accident with minimal injury, while motorcyclists have unfortunately high fatality statistics.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does information pulls every year, compiling data that highlights the percentage of fatalities that motorcyclists face. For example, in 2014 it was reported that 58 percent of all fatal motorcycle accidents were caused by multiple vehicles, such as cars or trucks. Comparatively, 42 percent of these fatalities occurred in single vehicle accidents.

The number that stands out the most, however, is the fact that this compilation of statistics showed that motorcyclists experience a much higher rate of fatality than other vehicle drivers. Their fatal accidents took up 13 percent of all motor vehicle deaths in the year 2014. Additionally, it was estimated that their lethality rate is as much as 26 times the amount of car drivers, going by deaths per mile. Unfortunately, the number of fatal motorcycle accidents has not plateaued or slowed down since 1998.

Unfortunately, fatal motor vehicle accidents are much more common than other types of fatal vehicular accidents. This is likely due to the lack of protection that its small, compact design leaves the driver with. This is a reality that all motorcyclists should be prepared to face by the time they hit the road.