What do the numbers say? Well, they should indicate to you that riding while there are lots of commuters on the road is a damn good time to keep your antennae up and stay focused.
It seems the most likely times to be involved in something dangerous while you’re riding your bike are the times when people are heading to or from work or out and back from their lunch hours.
Motorcycles have become more popular in recent years and they now appeal to a new group of riders – most of them older and more affluent.
Sales of all types of two-wheeled motorcycles totaled over 1 million in 2008, but fell a startling 41 percent in 2009.
Back in 2008, there were some 7.7 million motorcycles on the road.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, motorcycle fatalities had been climbing for 11 years, reaching 5,312 in 2008, the highest level since the Department of Transportation began collecting those figures in 1975. In 2009 motorcycle fatalities fell a reassuring 16 percent, to 4,462.
One number which should prove alarming is that there’s also been a dramatic jump in the number of deaths among motorcyclists age 40 and older in recent years.
Motorcycles are by their nature far less safe in a crash than closed vehicles, and they’re also less visible to other drivers and pedestrians. Operating a motorcycle requires a different combination of physical and mental skills than those used in driving four-wheel vehicles, and motorcyclists and their passengers are more vulnerable to the hazards of weather and road conditions than drivers in closed vehicles, so keep your senses tuned to what’s going on around you and above all, keep the rubber side down…
MOTORCYCLE RIDERS KILLED OR INJURED BY TIME OF DAY AND DAY OF WEEK (2008)
| Day of week | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekday | Weekend | Total | ||||
| Time of day | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent |
| Motorcycle riders killed | ||||||
| Midnight to 3 am | 194 | 7.3% | 325 | 12.4% | 519 | 9.8% |
| 3 am to 6 am | 101 | 3.8 | 99 | 3.8 | 200 | 3.8 |
| 6 am to 9 am | 206 | 7.8 | 57 | 2.2 | 263 | 5.0 |
| 9 am to noon | 209 | 7.9 | 238 | 9.1 | 447 | 8.4 |
| Noon to 3 pm | 429 | 16.1 | 396 | 15.1 | 825 | 15.6 |
| 3 pm to 6 pm | 662 | 24.9 | 506 | 19.3 | 1,168 | 22.1 |
| 6 pm to 9 pm | 474 | 17.8 | 570 | 21.7 | 1,044 | 19.7 |
| 9 pm to midnight | 373 | 14.0 | 413 | 15.7 | 786 | 14.9 |
| Unknown | 9 | 0.3 | 21 | 0.8 | 38 | 0.7 |
| Total | 2,657 | 100.0% | 2,625 | 100.0% | 5,290 (1) | 100.0% |
| Motorcycle riders injured | ||||||
| Midnight to 3 am | 2,480 | 4.6% | 2,929 | 7.0% | 5,409 | 5.6% |
| 3 am to 6 am | 1,873 | 3.5 | 596 | 1.4 | 2,469 | 2.6 |
| 6 am to 9 am | 6,284 | 11.6 | 1,343 | 3.2 | 7,627 | 7.9 |
| 9 am to noon | 6,008 | 11.1 | 5,384 | 12.9 | 11,391 | 11.9 |
| Noon to 3 pm | 8,812 | 16.3 | 9,223 | 22.1 | 18,035 | 18.8 |
| 3 pm to 6 pm | 14,068 | 26 | 9,093 | 21.8 | 23,160 | 24.1 |
| 6 pm to 9 pm | 9,605 | 17.7 | 8,734 | 20.9 | 18,338 | 19.1 |
| 9 pm to midnight | 5,070 | 9.4 | 4,486 | 10.7 | 9,557 | 10.0 |
| Total | 54,199 | 100.0% | 41,788 | 100.0% | 95,986 | 100.0% |
(1) Includes 8 motorcycle riders killed on an unknown day of week.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Safety Administration.
We’re here to help you find the right motorcycle insurance, whatever you ride…
Tips for buying your motorcycle insurance, coverage you need:
- Collision to pay for damage caused to your vehicle in an accident with another vehicle or any stationary object.
- Comprehensive to cover such things as fire, hail, wind, vandalism, hitting an animal, etc.
- Towing / Pickup
- Medical payment or personal injury protection to cover the medical bills resulting from an accident.
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist to protect us when the other driver is at-fault and does not have coverage or assets out of which your bills can be paid.