Minnesota Motorcycle Crash Statistics
(as reported by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety)
Motorcycle crashes and injuries hit ten year high
In 2004, there were 1,344 crashes that involved at least one motorcycle. This is the highest number of motorcycle crashes observed in Minnesota in the past ten years. In 1994, there were 1,381 motorcycle crashes and in 1992 there were 1,361. In 2004, 1,251 motorcyclists were injured. This is the highest number of motorcyclist injuries since 1994 when 1,324 motorcyclists were injured.
Fatalities decrease
Despite the increase in motorcycle crashes, fatal motorcycle crashes and motorcyclist fatalities decreased in 2004. There were 50 motorcyclist fatalities and 50 fatal motorcycle crashes in 2004 compared with 62 motorcyclist fatalities and 58 fatal motorcycle crashes in 2003.
Alcohol use among fatals at all time low
State law requires that drivers who die in traffic crashes be tested for blood alcohol level. In 2004, 46 motorcycle drivers were killed and 37 of them were tested. Ten (27%), of the 37 drivers tested positive for alcohol, and nearly one out of five tested at .10 or greater. This represents the lowest number of killed motorcycle drivers with a positive blood alcohol concentration in recent Minnesota history.
Greater crash severity
When a motorcycle is involved in a traffic crash, the chances of severe injury are greatly increased. In fact, 3.7 of every 100 motorcycle crashes in 2004 were fatal and nearly one out of every five motorcyclists injured was injured severely.
Helmet use
Currently, Minnesota does not have a mandatory helmet use law for motorcyclists 18 or older. Laws may be debated, but the benefits helmets offer are clear: they protect the head in the event of a collision. In 2004, 14 (28%) of the 50 motorcycle riders killed were known to be wearing a helmet. Of the 1,251 motorcyclists injured, only 418 (33%) were recorded as wearing a helmet.
Operator training is essential
In 2004, 53% of all motorcycle crashes were single vehicle crashes. This may indicate that further training is needed for a large segment of the motorcycle driver population.
Males are most often victims
In 2004, 43 of the 50 motorcyclists killed, and 1,005 of the 1,251 injured, were male.Males account for a full 81% of all motorcyclists killed or injured.
Contributing factors:
Speeding motorcyclists
Failing to yield by other vehicles
As noted, over half of motorcycle crashes are single vehicle crashes. In these crashes, the factors that reporting officers cite most often are illegal or unsafe speed (17%), driver inexperience (12%), driver inattention or distraction (9%), and chemical impairment (5%). In crashes that do involve another motor vehicle, the reporting officers more often associate contributing factors with the other driver than with the motorcyclist. For other drivers, failure to yield the right of way (24%) and driver inattention or distraction (26%), are cited most frequently.
National Motorcycle Injury Statistics
(as reported by the NHTSA and NCSA)
(Printable PDF)
In 2004, 76,000 motorcyclists were injured in traffic crashes in the United States -14 percent more than the 67,000 motorcyclist injuries reported in 2003.
Motorcyclist Injuries and Injury Rates, 1994-2004
Motorcycles made up more than 2 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States in 2003 and accounted for only 0.3 percent of all vehicle miles traveled. Per vehicle mile traveled in 2003, motorcyclists were about 6 times more likely to be injured.
Motorcycle Involvement in Injury Crashes
In 2004, In two-vehicle crashes, 78 percent of the motorcycles involved were impacted in the front. Only 6 percent were struck in the rear.
Motorcycles are more likely than other vehicles to be involved in a an injury collision with a fixed object. In 2004, 11 percent of the reported injury crashes involving motorcycles were fixed object crashes, compared to 9 percent for passenger cars, 7 percent for light trucks, and 4 percent for large trucks.
Helmet Use and Effectiveness
NHTSA estimates that helmets saved the lives of 1,316 motorcyclists in 2004. If all motorcyclists had worn helmets, an additional 671 lives could have been saved.
Helmets are estimated to be 37 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries to motorcyclists.
This means for every 100 motorcyclists killed in crashes while not wearing a helmet, 37 of them could have been saved had all 100 worn a helmet.
According to NHTSA's National Occupant Protection Use Survey, a nationally representative observational survey of motorcycle helmet, safety belt, and child safety seat use, helmet use declined by 13 percentage points over 4 years, from 71 percent in 2000 to 58 percent in 2004. This drop is statistically significant and corresponds to a striking 45-percent increase in nonuse.
Reported helmet use rates for fatally injured motorcyclists in 2004 were 56 percent for operators and 47 percent for passengers, compared with 53 percent and 50 percent, respectively, in 2003.
All motorcycle helmets sold in the United States are required to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218, the performance standard which establishes the minimum level of protection helmets must afford each user.
In 2004, 20 States, the District of Columbia , and Puerto Rico required helmet use by all motorcycle operators and passengers. In another 27 States, only persons under a specific age, usually 18, were required to wear helmets. Three States had no laws requiring helmet use.
