NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590 Traffic Safety Facts
Research Note
DOT HS 811 149 July 2009
Motorcyclists Injured in Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes
Summary of Findings
The number of people injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes, as estimated from NHTSA’s National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) General Estimate System (GES) has declined from 1999 onwards; however, estimates of motorcyclists injured in crashes have increased each year since 1998. Motorcyclists injured in crashes have increased by 110 percent from 1998 to 2007. Data for the past 10 years (1998-2007) was researched to see various trends among motorcyclists injured in motor vehicle crashes. Following is a summary of findings from this research note:
The proportion of motorcyclists injured in crashes (single-vehicle/multivehicle) has remained almost the same (about 50%).
More than two-thirds of the motorcyclists injured were in crashes during the months from April through September.
The proportion of motorcyclists injured in crashes by day of week (weekday versus weekend) has remained almost the same (55% versus 45%).
However, based on the number of hours during weekdays and weekends the injury rate was nearly 1.5 times higher during weekends than during weekdays.
Of the motorcyclists injured, more than 60 percent were in crashes that occurred during daytime.
Across all 10 years, about 90 percent of the motorcyclists injured in crashes were motorcycle riders (operators) and 10 percent were motorcycle passengers.
The proportion of motorcyclists injured in alcohol-related crashes has remained almost the same (10% in 1998 to 9% in 2007).
Nearly 85 percent of the motorcyclists injured in crashes each year are male and about 15 percent are female.
Motorcyclists injured in crashes increased among all age groups.
The largest number of motorcyclists injured in each year was in the 20-29 age group.
Introduction
Of the 2,491,000 people who were injured in motor vehicle crashes on the Nation’s highways in 2007, 103,000 (4%) were motorcyclists. Motorcyclists injured in motor vehicle crashes in the last 10 years (1998-2007), have increased by 110 percent, from 49,000 in 1998 to 103,000 in 2007. Figure 1 shows motorcyclists injured in crashes in the past 10 years. The data used is from the NHTSA’s National Automotive Sampling System 2 NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590
General Estimate System. NASS GES contains data from a nationally representative sample of police-reported crashes of all severities, including those that result in death, injury, or property damage. Data presented from NASS GES are estimates and are subject to sampling errors (see Appendix C of Traffic Safety Facts each year for more information on these errors). This Research Note analyzes data on motorcyclists injured in police-reported crashes (fatal crashes and injury crashes) by different characteristics. For comparison with motorcyclist fatalities in crashes, a detailed report on motorcyclist fatality trends and characteristics, titled Recent Trends in Fatal Motorcycle Crashes: An Update (DOT HS 810 606) is available at: www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810606.PDF.Figure 1
Motorcyclists Injured in Motor Vehicle Crashes, 1998–2007
Data Analysis
The data analysis in this Research Note looks at motorcyclists injured in motor vehicle crashes over the 10-year period (1998-2007) by the type of crash (single-vehicle/multivehicle), day of week (weekday/weekend) and by other factors such as alcohol involvement, helmet use, age group, sex, and person type of the motorcyclist injured. The data in this Research Note was rounded to the nearest thousand. However, percentages were calculated before rounding, hence row totals may not add up to individual cells.
Motorcyclists Injured, by Crash Type
Of the 103,000 motorcyclists injured in crashes in 2007, 50,000 (48%) were in single-vehicle crashes and 53,000 (52%) were in multivehicle crashes. The number of motorcyclists injured in single-vehicle motorcycle crashes increased by 108 percent from 24,000 in 1998 to 50,000 in 2007. Motorcyclists injured in multivehicle crashes also increased, by 112 percent from 25,000 in 1998 to 53,000 in 2007. However, the proportion of motorcyclists injured by crash type (single-vehicle versus multivehicle) in the past 10 years has remained almost the same. Table 1 shows motorcyclists injured in crashes by crash type and year.
Table 1 Motorcyclists Injured in Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes, By Crash Type and Year | ||||||||||||
Calendar Year | Crash Type | Total | ||||||||||
Single-Vehicle | Multivehicle | |||||||||||
Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |||||||
1998 | 24,000 | 49 | 25,000 | 51 | 49,000 | 100 | ||||||
1999 | 23,000 | 46 | 27,000 | 54 | 50,000 | 100 | ||||||
2000 | 28,000 | 48 | 30,000 | 52 | 58,000 | 100 | ||||||
2001 | 28,000 | 47 | 32,000 | 53 | 60,000 | 100 | ||||||
2002 | 33,000 | 51 | 32,000 | 49 | 65,000 | 100 | ||||||
2003 | 32,000 | 48 | 35,000 | 52 | 67,000 | 100 | ||||||
2004 | 38,000 | 50 | 38,000 | 50 | 76,000 | 100 | ||||||
2005 | 44,000 | 50 | 43,000 | 50 | 87,000 | 100 | ||||||
2006 | 43,000 | 49 | 44,000 | 51 | 88,000 | 100 | ||||||
2007 | 50,000 | 48 | 53,000 | 52 | 103,000 | 100 | ||||||
Source: NHTSA, NCSA, NASS GES 1998-2007 | ||||||||||||
Motorcyclists Injured, by Quarter
Motorcyclists injured in crashes in 2007 when examined at a quarterly basis show that the highest number of motorcyclists injured, 37,000 (36%), were injured during July through September, followed by 33,000 (32%) from April through June, 17,000 (17%) from October through December, and 16,000 (15%) during January through March. More than two-thirds (68%) of the motorcyclists injured in crashes in 2007 were injured during the period April through September. April to September is the high riding season for motorcyclists. Motorcyclists injured in the past 10 years (1998 to 2007) during April through September ranged from 67 percent to 73 percent.
Motorcyclists Injured, by Day of Week
Among the motorcyclists injured in crashes in 2007, 57,000 (55%) were injured in crashes that occurred during weekdays and 46,000 (45%) were injured in crashes during weekends. In the past 10 years this trend has remained almost the same except for year 2002 when the proportions of motorcyclists injured in crashes during weekday and weekends were the same. NHTSA uses the following definitions for “weekday” and “weekend”:
Weekday: 6 a.m. Monday to 5:59 p.m. Friday.
Weekend: 6 p.m. Friday to 5:59 a.m. Monday.
Based on the definition above, the number of hours during a weekend is 60 (2½ days) and during weekdays is 108 (4½ days). The total number of weekend days during a year is 130 (52 weeks x 2½ days) and the total number of weekdays during a year is 234 (52 weeks x 4½ days). In 2007, there were 57,000 motorcyclists injured during weekdays, which translates to an average of 244 motorcyclists injured per day. During weekends there were 46,000 injured, which translates to an average of 354 motorcyclists injured per day. Hence, in 2007, the injury rate (per time period) was nearly 1.5 times higher during weekends than during weekdays. This might suggest more recreational motorcycle riding during weekends.
Motorcyclists Injured, by Time of Day
Nearly two-thirds (67,000) of the motorcyclists injured in 2007 were injured in crashes that occurred during daytime, and 35 percent (36,000) were injured during nighttime crashes. In all the years the number of motorcyclists injured in daytime crashes was more than 60 percent except in year 1998. Motorcyclists injured during daytime crashes in the 10 year period (1998-2007) have ranged from a low of 58 percent in 1998 to a high of 67 percent in 2002.
Motorcyclists Injured, by Age Group
Nearly one-third (32,000 or 31%) of the 103,000 motorcyclists injured in 2007 in crashes were in the 20-to-29 age group, the highest among all age groups. This was followed by 21,000 (21%) in the 40-to-49 age group, 18,000 (17%) in the 30-to-39 age group, 15,000 (15%) in the 50-to-59 age group, 9,000 (9%) in the under-20 age group and 8,000 (7%) in the above-59 age group. The number of motorcyclists injured from 1998 to 2007 increased among all age groups. Motorcyclists injured in the under-20 age group increased by 29 percent from 7,000 to 9,000, in the 20-to-29 age group from 13,000 to 32,000 (146% increase), in the 30-to-39 age group from 12,000 to 18,000 (50% increase), in the 40-to-49 age group from 9,000 to 21,000 (133% increase), in the 50-to-59 age group from 6,000 to 15,000 (150% increase) and in the above-59 age group from 2,000 to 8,000 (300% increase). The 20-to-29 and 40 and above age groups had the largest increase in motorcyclists injured in the past 10 years. Motorcyclists injured in the 20-to-29 group had the highest number in all the years.
Motorcyclists Injured, by Gender
In 2007, of the 103,000 motorcyclists injured in crashes, 89,000 (87%) were males and 14,000 (13%) were females. About 85 percent of the motorcyclists injured in crashes each year were males and about 15 percent were females. Similar trends have been noticed among motorcyclists killed in fatal crashes. In the last 10 years, of the motorcyclists injured the proportion of male to female motorcyclists injured has ranged from 90 percent males to 10 percent females in 1999, to 83 percent males and 17 percent females in 2002.
Conclusions
The findings from this research note indicate that data trends among motorcyclists injured in motor vehicle crashes are very similar to the trends seen in fatal motorcycle crashes. In the past 10 years (1998-2007), motorcyclists injured in crashes have increased at a higher rate than the increase in motorcycle registrations (110% versus 84%). There is an overall shift in the age of the motorcyclists injured in crashes with more older motorcyclists (40 and older) getting injured. Even though the 20-to-29 age group still continues to have the highest number of motorcyclists injured the other age groups are closely catching up. More motorcyclists are getting injured in crashes during weekends, indicating recreational driving.
For questions regarding the data reported in this publication, please send an e-mail to the NCSA Webmaster at ncsaweb@dot.gov.
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