California Motorcycle Deaths Fall in First Half of 2009

October 21, 2009

Sacramento - The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) said Wednesday the state’s motorcycle deaths have declined by 25 during the first half of fiscal year, the first time in 11 years.

In a statement, OTS Director Christopher Murphy said “they are happy with the new result” and vowed to “enforce road safety to make sure that motorcycle riders are getting home alive.”

According to statistics released by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 198 people were killed by motorcycle accidents during the first half of 2009 compared to 264 deaths in the same period last year.

Since 1999, the rate of motorcycle deaths increased by 10 percent annually while the number of fatalities of other road users was declining almost every year, according to OTS statistics.

Meanwhile, NHTSA statistics shows that the overall traffic deaths in California decreased by 21 percent between 2005 and 2008. However, motorcycle fatalities during the same period increased about 19 percent.

Due to this alarming trend, the local government and safety regulators have focused on educating the public on safe motorcycle driving.

Authorities also implement training course and safety awareness to motorcycle riders after a study shows that at-fault operators accounted for 70 percent of fatal crashes.