Georgia Injury Law Blog
The number of people being killed in motorcycle accidents reached record numbers in 2022 with more than 6,000 lives lost that year.
With so much of the focus on people being killed in pedestrian accidents or car accidents, it is easy to miss the fact that motorcyclists are losing their lives in large numbers in accidents too. In fact, in 2022, according to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 6,222 motorcyclists were killed in accidents. This is the highest number of motorcycle accident deaths on record. It is also a 23% increase on the number of deaths recorded in 2019.
Motorcycle wrongful deaths accounted for 15% of all traffic accident deaths recorded in 2019. The numbers recorded were also three times higher than the numbers in 1997. About 63% of all motorcycle accident fatalities occurred in accidents involving other vehicles, while 37% involved only the motorcycle.
Motorcyclists above the age of 50 continue to account for some of the highest numbers of motorcycle accident wrongful deaths. A few decades ago, they accounted for just about 3% of all motorcycle accident deaths, but those numbers rose over the years as more and more older motorcyclists joined a growing club of recreational motorcyclists. In 2022, the picture was no different with 2,146 motorcycle accident deaths involving motorcyclists above 50 years of age, or 34% of all motorcycle accident fatalities. In contrast, the number of deaths involving motorcyclists below the age of 29 was 1,671 or 27% of the total accident toll.
Motorcyclists have very little protection in the event of an accident with a good, solid helmet being the only thing that stands between them and potentially fatal traumatic brain injury. Even helmets do not 100% guarantee protection against an injury, with 62% of motorcyclists involved in motorcycle accident deaths in 2022 wearing a helmet at the time. Unfortunately, helmet use is not as widespread among passengers with 47% of passengers who were killed wearing helmets at the time. Wearing a helmet can be the only thing standing between you and almost certain serious personal injury or fatality in the event of an accident. Make sure that your helmet is compliant with federal helmet safety standards, and is well fitting and comfortable for you to wear.
Riding a motorcycle with a larger engine may also expose you to the risk of being involved in a serious accident with 34 percent of motorcyclists killed in accidents in 2022 riding motorcycles with more than 1400cc engines.
The Atlanta motorcycle accident lawyers at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons who have suffered injuries in motorcycle accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across the state of Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident, talk to a lawyer at our firm and discuss your legal options for a claim for damages. You may qualify for compensation that includes medical costs, lost income and other forms of damages. Talk to an attorney at our firm and discuss your case. Initial consultations are free.