Motorcycle Accidents

September 29, 2023

Maryland Motorcycle Accidents : Current Statistics and Crash Data

The allure of motorcycling is unmistakable. Motorcycle enthusiasts describe a feeling of freedom, being close to the environment, and enjoying the open road. It’s all about the ride. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates the number of registered motorcycles in the U.S. doubled from 4.3 million in 2002 to 8.6 million in 2021.

Unfortunately, what makes motorcycling so appealing also creates serious risks for motorcyclists and their passengers when they’re involved in traffic accidents. Unlike motorists in passenger vehicles, who are surrounded by reinforced steel, motorcycle riders are exposed and vulnerable when involved in a crash with a car, truck or SUV. This means motorcyclists are at higher risk for injury or death when involved in traffic accidents.

As Maryland motorcycle accident attorneys, we know too well what can happen when a motorcycle and an automobile collide on the road, or when a motorcycle goes off the road and crashes. Zero Deaths Maryland reports that in 2020, nearly 1,300 motorcycle-involved crashes occurred statewide, with more than 75 percent resulting in injury or death. Between 2016 and 2020, motorcycle-related crashes accounted for about 14 percent of Maryland’s traffic crash-related deaths. Read on for more Maryland motorcycle accident statistics and characteristics.
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August 30, 2011

Maryland Motorcycle Accident Fatalities : The Statistics Tell Part of the Story

by Jeff Butschky

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that Maryland motorcycle traffic accident deaths reached a five-year low in 2009 — at 69 motorcycle crash fatalities in 2009, compared to 91 deaths in 2008, and 96 deaths in 2007. Data is still pending for 2010, although preliminary data released by the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA) showed an uptick in motorcycle accident deaths in Maryland for the first nine months of 2010.

Other statistics of note, from the GHSA report:

> Motorcycle traffic accident fatalities for all of 2010 nationwide are expected to be 4,376 or fewer — a decrease of at least 2% from the 4,465 fatalities of 2009.

June 7, 2011

Maryland Motorcycle Traffic Accident Deaths Increase in 2010, Study Results Show

by Jeff Butschky

Do you own and operate a motorcycle in Maryland? How safe do you feel sharing Maryland’s back roads, Baltimore city streets, highways, and bridges with cars, trucks (including commercial trucks), SUVs, vans, and other motor vehicles? Do you feel Md.’s traffic safety laws are adequate to protect motorcycle operators and their passengers?

As Baltimore County motorcycle accident injury lawyers, we’ve seen the devastating results of what can happen when a motorcycle traffic accident occurs in Maryland. Now a new national governors’ study sheds some interesting light on motorcycle traffic safety laws and motorcycle accident deaths — and the results are mixed.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Association released preliminary data that suggests accidental deaths from motorcycle crashes in the U.S. declined overall by 2 percent in 2010. That’s down to 4,376 motorcycle accident deaths estimated for 2010 as compared to 4,465 fatalities in 2009. The GHSA looked at all 50 states and our neighbors in Washington, DC. However, some of that initially encouraging news may be tempered by other factors, such as…

May 1, 2010

Maryland Motorcycle Traffic Accidents in the News, Though National Motorcycle Accident Death Rates Have Declined

by Jeff Butschky

Maryland news media report that three fatal motorcycle accidents have occurred in recent weeks in the state, now that the weather is warm and more motorcycles are on the road.

According to Southern Maryland Online, a motorcycle accident that occurred on April 17 in the area of Prince Frederick, Md., is believed to have caused fatal injuries to a 53-year-old biker who died shortly after the motor vehicle accident. Police investigators reported that the operator lost control of his Harley Davidson motorcycle and struck a tree. While the man seemed uninjured by the crash and did not seek immediate medical attention, he was later found unresponsive in his home and was brought to an area hospital, where he died. The cause of death of this motorcycle accident victim remains under investigation.

Brain injuries can result from motorcycle and other car and truck accidents, and the severity of those injuries may not always be apparent immediately after the accident — particularly if the person who has suffered a head injury is able to speak after the crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that head injury is the number one cause of death of motorcycle riders involved in traffic accidents.

December 21, 2009

New Year’s Eve and Other Holiday Drunk Driving Car Accidents in Maryland

by Jeff Butschky

With the holiday season in full swing, everyone is scrambling. There’s last-minute shopping, preparing for holiday parties and feasts, wrapping up year-end projects at work — and increased travel by air, rail, and road. Unfortunately, drunk driving car accidents are also part of the holiday picture in Maryland and around the country.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that state law enforcement across the country will be cracking down on drunk drivers this holiday season, with the “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” campaign. People who overindulge in alcohol at family gatherings, work parties, New Year’s Eve celebrations, and other holiday get-togethers pose a risk of serious personal injury (including debilitating brain or spine injury) or death to themselves and others. Nationally, 13,470 people were killed in 2006 in alcohol-related traffic accidents.

Maryland Drunk Driving Statistics and Holiday Traffic Accidents

November 23, 2009

Thanksgiving Traffic Accidents a Concern for Maryland Police: Add Increased Travel, Alcohol & Wildlife to the Mix

by Jeff Butschky

This Thanksgiving, as is the case every holiday season, law enforcement will be on the lookout to pull over speeders, reckless drivers, and drug- and alcohol-impaired drivers to prevent Maryland car accidents.

Though 2008 saw a decline in Thanksgiving travel, gas prices have stabilized to a level more drivers can live with, and the AAA predicts an uptick in holiday travel this year. That means more cars on Maryland’s roads and highways as people travel to and from our fair state to visit family. Other factors contributing to danger on Maryland roadways this holiday season:

> County and wildlife experts report that deer-vehicle collisions in Maryland occur in the thousands every year. Exact numbers are hard to gauge, as it’s unknown how many deer-car crashes occur that don’t get reported. Deer in the roadway are a concern for holiday drivers, particularly as dusk comes earlier with the days getting shorter, and animals are active at dawn and dusk.

October 7, 2009

Deterring Baltimore County Traffic Accidents: Speed Camera Laws Go Into Effect

by Jeff Butschky

The Baltimore County City Council passed an act concerning speed cameras designed to thwart motor vehicle accidents and pedestrian accidents that occur in school zones. Bill 61-09 Speed Monitoring Systems, which went into effect Oct. 1, 2009, authorizes county law enforcement, in consult with other agencies, to use and enforce citations issued by speed monitoring systems in school zones.

The bill defines “speed monitoring systems” as “a device with one or more motor vehicle sensors producing recorded images of motor vehicles traveling at speeds at least 12 miles per hour above the posted speed limit.” Drivers will be subject to a $40 fine. An amendment to the bill limits the number of cameras to 15. The one councilor who dissented felt that more police — not speed cams — was a better way to address the problem.

In addition to the county bill targeting speeders in school zones, a separate state law now allows speed cameras at work zone sites; two have been placed in Baltimore County — one on I-695 at Charles Street and another on I-95 between I-895 and White Marsh Blvd.

September 2, 2009

Labor Day Weekend Crackdown: Maryland Drunk Driving Accident Prevention

by Jeff Butschky

Labor Day traditionally heralds the end of summer. It’s an opportunity for family and friends to get together one more time before diving back into the fall season’s school-and-work grind. Not surprisingly, this long holiday weekend typically sees a spike in alcohol-related traffic accidents nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) / National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is ramping up its public awareness safety campaign in an effort to reduce the number of Labor Day car, truck, and motorcycle accident injuries and fatalities. Called “Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest,” the campaign brings together law enforcement and public safety advocates to drive home the message that drunk driving is not an accident, nor is it a victimless crime.

The DOT reports that last year, 40% of all fatal motor vehicle accidents that occurred over Labor Day weekend were due to drinking and driving. Law enforcement will be cracking down on impaired driving this holiday weekend for drivers of all types of vehicles including motorcycles, cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks.

August 12, 2009

Maryland On Foot: Avoid Pedestrian Accidents with These Safety Tips

by Jeff Butschky

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), of the 614 Maryland car accident deaths that occurred in 2007, pedestrian deaths numbered at 116. That’s 116 people who died trying to get to where they were going on foot — whether it was to school, to work, to the store, to walk the dog, or to visit a neighbor or friend. Maybe some were just trying to get home. They didn’t make it.

For the same year (2007), across the U.S., 4,654 pedestrians died and an estimated 70,000 or more were injured in motor-vehicle related pedestrian accidents. (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: Maryland 2003-2007)

As experienced Maryland pedestrian accident lawyers, we know what can happen when walkers find themselves in the wrong place, at the wrong time — in the path of an oncoming vehicle.

August 4, 2009

Maryland Distracted Driving Alert: Texting Ups Car Accident Risk Significantly

by Jeff Butschky

Have you ever traveled on the Baltimore Beltway or another Maryland roadway and noticed your fellow drivers engaging in activities other than steering the 4,000-pound SUV beneath them? Car crashes caused by drivers reading the newspaper, fiddling with the stereo, putting on makeup, and chatting on cell phones — only to lose control of their vehicles or miss a road obstacle and crash — are sadly, nothing new.

Now we traffic-frazzled Maryland commuters can add texting to the list of distracted-driving activities that can cause serious car, SUV, motorcycle and truck accidents. Highways aren’t the only places texting poses a risk — a teenager texting a friend while driving down their quiet neighborhood street could cause a fatal car pedestrian accident.

A recent study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded that texting (i.e., typing and sending messages on a cell phone or wireless hand-held device) while driving is even more dangerous that previously thought, and that texting has indeed become the most dangerous of all distracted-driving activities.