Motorcycle Safety

Key points

  • Every year there are thousands of deaths and injuries among motorcyclists involved in crashes.
  • Motorcycle crash injuries and deaths are preventable.
A couple on a motorcycle wearing helmets and jackets

Facts

Man on white motorcycle with helmet and padding
Helmets reduce the risk of head injury.
  • Motorcycle crashes were 13% of all motor vehicle crashes in 2022. About 6,000 motorcyclists died[1] on our nation's roads in 2022, and more than 218,000 were treated in emergency departments for crash injuries.[1]
  • The economic costs of these injuries and deaths are significant; fatal crash injuries to motorcyclists resulted in over $65 billion in lifetime medical, work, and quality of life lost costs in 2022.[1]
  • Motorcyclists are more likely to die in a crash than car passengers. Per vehicle miles traveled in 2022, the fatality rate for motorcyclists was almost 22 times the passenger car occupant facility rate.[2]

What can be done

State universal helmet laws are an effective way to save lives.1

  • According to a study, an estimated 22,058 motorcyclists who died in crashes on U.S. roads between 1976 and 2022 would have survived if helmet use in states without universal helmet laws had been the same as in states with helmet laws.2

Additional resources

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Content Source:
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
  1. The Community Guide. Motor vehicle-related injury prevention: Use of motorcycle helmets, universal helmet laws. Available at: https://www.thecommunityguide.org/sites/default/files/assets/MVOI-Motorcycle-Helmets-Laws-Mandating-Use_1.pdf [14 pages].
  2. Teoh ER. The human cost of allowing unhelmeted motorcycling in the United States. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 2024.