Ride sober or get pulled over. Even Motorcycle riders get busted for riding drunk.
Alcohol affects those skills essential to riding a motorcycle – balance and coordination. So it plays a particularly big role in motorcycle fatalities.
Statistics show that the percentage of intoxicated motorcycle riders in fatal crashes is greater than the percentage of intoxicated drivers on our roads.
This is why NHTSA urges all motorcycle riders to always ride smart and sober.
Motorcycle accident facts:
Motorcyclist crash fatalities increased by 7-percent, from 4,630 in 2011 to 4,957 in 2012.
There were 93,000 motorcyclists injured in crashes 2012, a 14-percent increase from the year before.
In 2012, motorcyclists accounted for 15 percent of all traffic fatalities, 18 percent of all occupant fatalities, and 4 percent of all occupants injured.
The motorcycle rider is usually the one killed in a fatal motorcycle crash. Of the 4,957 motorcyclists killed in 2012, 93 percent were the riders, while 7 percent were the passengers.
In 2012, the reported helmet use rate for motorcycle riders killed in traffic crashes was 45 percent for those who were riding drunk (BAC of .08 or higher), compared to 66 percent for those motorcyclists who had no alcohol (BAC of .00).
Additional motorcycle accident facts:
Even though motorcycles account for only about 3 percent of registered vehicles on the road, motorcycle riders are dramatically overrepresented in fatal crashes, especially those involving alcohol.
In 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcycle fatalities increased to 4,957—making up 15 percent of the total traffic fatalities for the year.
More than 1 in 4 (27%) of all motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes in 2012 were legally drunk, with a blood alcohol concentration at or above .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL)—the legal limit in all states and the District of Columbia.
NHTSA data reveals that in 2012, more than two thousand motorcyclist fatalities occurred in single-vehicle motorcycle crashes. Alcohol plays a large part in those single-vehicle crashes. Forty-three percent of the motorcycle riders killed in those crashes were impaired. On weekend nights, the percentage jumps to almost two-thirds (64%) of the fatally injured motorcyclists being drunk.
Labor Day weekend of 2012 (6 p.m. August 31-5:59 a.m. September 4), the rate of alcohol impairment among motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes was even worse—at 38 percent.
As the summer winds down, motorcyclists will hit the roads to take advantage of the warmer weather, and all riders are reminded to Ride Sober or Get Pulled Over.
Stay alive on your motorcycle: always wear a DOT-compliant helmet and protective clothing, be properly licensed, don’t speed, and ride completely sober.
If you plan on drinking at all, leave your motorcycle out of your plans. Designate a sober rider before you have any alcohol.
Operating a motorcycle requires an enhanced level of focus, coordination, and balance, so compromising your skills by drinking alcohol and riding can be a deadly decision. You’re not only putting yourself at risk on the road—you’re risking the lives of other drivers.
