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I. Introduction |
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I. Introduction |
Motorcycle crashes contribute significantly to the large number of injuries and fatalities on the roadways. Motorcyclist fatalities accounted for 7 percent of total traffic fatalities in 2000; yet, motorcycles were less than 2 percent of all registered vehicles and only 0.4 percent of all vehicle miles traveled.
Alcohol continues to play a significant role in motorcycle crashes. Over the past 10 years, the number of alcohol-related fatalities for both passenger car operators and motorcycle operators has fallen; however, motorcycle operators continue to have a higher involvement. According to the 2000 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes had higher intoxication rates, with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .10 grams per deciliter or greater, than any other type of motor vehicle drivers. More than 40 percent of the motorcycle operators who died in single-vehicle crashes were intoxicated.
In 1994, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigated why alcohol involvement in motorcycle crashes remained high, even though the changes in drinking-and-driving laws apply equally to all motor vehicle operators and public information and education campaigns have increased the public’s awareness of the dangers of driving intoxicated or impaired. The agency previously had conducted similar research with operators of four-wheeled vehicles but had not included motorcyclists in the research. The purpose of the 1994 research was to identify prevailing attitudes among motorcyclists who drink and ride, as well as any similarities and differences between motorcyclists and other vehicle operators who drink and drive. This would enable NHTSA to develop more effective public information materials.
NHTSA issued two reports in 2001. The first report (Shankar, 2001a) revealed motorcyclist fatalities decreased each year from 1993 to 1997, reaching a historic low of 2,116 in 1997. In the late 1990s, however, this trend was reversed with increases to 2,294 (8.4 percent) in 1998 and to 2,472 (7.8 percent) in 1999. The overall increase in motorcyclist fatalities from 1997 to 1999 was 356 (16.8 percent). This reversal prompted an assessment of possible explanations for the surge in fatalities in recent years.
The second report (Shankar, 2001b) revealed that more than 38,000 motorcyclists died in single-vehicle motorcycle crashes between 1975 and 1999. Motorcyclist fatalities in single-vehicle crashes had decreased each year from 1990 to 1996, reaching a low of 937 in both 1996 and 1997. However, in the late 1990s, the fatalities in single-vehicle motorcycle crashes increased to 1,042 (11.2 percent) in 1998 and to 1,140 (9.4 percent) in 1999. The overall increase in motorcyclist fatalities from single-vehicle crashes from 1997 to 1999 was 203 (21.7 percent). Among other findings, more riders older than 40 years were dying because of these crashes and the high BAC levels that were involved.
