The most dangerous states for motorcyclists – revealed

New data has revealed America’s most dangerous state for motorcyclists, with New Hampshire topping the list.  The study by Ohio Personal Injury Lawyer John Fitch analyzed the latest available crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to reveal the states where motorcycles are involved in the highest percentage of fatal crashes.

New Hampshire tops the list as 25 of the 148 crashes in the state during 2020 involved a motorcycle, which equates to 16.89% – the highest rate of all 50 states. New Hampshire has the nation’s fourth highest number of registered motorcycles compared against the population – there are 6,268 motorcycles for every 100,000 people.

Hawaii is in second place after there were 19 fatal crashes out of 114 that involved a motorcycle, which works out at 16.67%. This is despite motorcycle registrations in the state being fairly low, at 1,816 per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 4,340.

South Dakota places third in the list of the most dangerous states for motorcyclists, with 31 out of 191 fatal crashes involving at least one motorcycle. It also has the second highest rate of registrations for the vehicle – there are 222,868 motorcycles registered in the state, which compared against a population of around 900,000 equates to 25,261 motorcycles for every 100,000 people.

In fourth place is Connecticut, where 15.66% of the 415 fatal crashes in the state involved a motorcycle, while Colorado ranks fifth with 15.59% of 885 deadly accidents involving a motorcycle.  The top most dangerous states for motorcyclists is rounded out by Wisconsin in sixth, Pennsylvania in seventh, New York in eighth, Rhode Island in ninth, and Vermont in tenth.

At the other end of the scale, Alabama has the lowest percentage of motorcycles involved in fatal crashes. During 2020 there were 1,306 fatal crashes recorded in the state, and 77 of them, or 5.9%, involved a motorcycle.

Alaska had the second lowest rate of 6.25% after five out of 80 fatal crashes included a motorcycle. Mississippi had the third lowest percentage of crashes involving a motorcycle, and it is also the state with the lowest rate of registrations for the two-wheeled vehicle compared to the population (1,101 per 100,000 people).

In terms of total numbers, Florida had the highest number of motorcycles involved in fatal crashes during the time period that was measured, with 617, while California had the second highest amount on 556, despite being the most populated state.  Commenting on the data, a spokesperson for John Fitch said: “There are nearly ten million motorcycles registered across the country, and any time someone takes theirs out for a ride, they do so with a higher risk of injury if involved in a road accident. The data reveals that there are considerable differences across states in how likely a motorcycle is to be involved in a fatal crash, with the rate in New Hampshire nearly triple that of Alabama.”

The study was conducted by John Fitch, an Ohio personal injury attorney advocating for victims state-wide including Columbus, Dayton, Marion, Springfield.

US states ranked by the percentage of vehicles involved in fatal crashes that are motorcycles