Virginia Motorcycle Registration and Accident Trends

• The number of motorcycle classifications added to driver’s licenses in Virginia increased 19 percent between 2003 and 2007.
• Over the same time period, motorcycle fatalities increased by 125 percent. Most of that increase occurred between 2006 and 2007, when motorcycle fatalities increased by 80 percent.
• Motorcycle riders accounted for 126 traffic deaths in 2007, or 12.3 percent of all traffic fatalities. This is especially striking given that motorcycles made up only approximately 2.2 percent of registered vehicles in 2007.
• Motorcycle classifications on driver’s licenses increased by 61 percent between 1997 and 2007. Motorcycle registrations increased by 151 percent over the same decade. Motorcycle registrations increased by 9 percent or more every year between 1999 and 2007.
• There were 165,584 motorcycles registered in Virginia in 2007, of which 1.6 percent were involved in crashes that year (2,602 crashes).
• In 2007, the average age of a person fatally injured in a motorcycle accident in Virginia was 37 years. Helmets were worn by 97 percent of fatally injured persons at the time of the crash. Major contributing factors (speeding, improper passing, or loss of control) were involved in 70 percent of fatalities.
• There were 2,284 motorcycle crash injuries in 2007. This represents an increase from the 2,206 injuries in 2006. Motorcycle crash injuries increased every year between 2002 and 2007.

Sources:

www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/safety/crash_data/motorcycle/pdf/class_fatality_chart.pdf
www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/safety/crash_data/motorcycle/pdf/fatality_info_chart.pdf
www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/safety/crash_data/motorcycle/pdf/class_registration_chart.pdf
www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/safety/crash_data/motorcycle/pdf/registration.pdf
www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/safety/crash_data/motorcycle/pdf/injury_occupant.pdf
www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/pdf/vacrashfacts_07.pdf