How Dangerous are Motorcycles, Really?
Guest Post
Everyone thinks of motorcycles as being dangerous, but how dangerous are they? In 2010, there were over 4,300 fatalities involving the riders of motorcycles. This seems high, but compare it to the number of fatalities in car crashes: over 22,000. Given the number of people driving, however, car accidents only account for 1.7 crashes per 100 million miles driven. Meanwhile, motorcyclists rack up 35 crashes in the same number of driven miles.
Motorcyclists are speed demons, too. 14 percent more accidents are caused by speeding on a motorcycle than in a car. On top of that, one out of three motorcycle accidents are caused by drunk driving. Compare that to one out of four car accidents. Meanwhile, 7 percent more accidents involve someone with an invalid license. The most telling statistic is the percentage of accidents that result in injury or death. Cars are safe — only 20 percent of car accidents result in an injury.
Meanwhile, a whopping 80 percent of motorcycle accidents end in injury. What is it that makes a motorcycle accident so deadly? First off, most of the time riders are not wearing appropriate helmets, despite regional helmet laws. Because the driver is so exposed, joints are easy to damage in a crash, and road rash is guaranteed. There’s even a phenomenon known as "biker’s arm" that’s a type of nerve damage.
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