Colorado In The Middle In Motorcycle Fatality Stats
Thursday, June 20th, 2019
It’s safer to ride in some states than in others.
Be careful if you’re riding your motorcycle in Mississippi. The most current numbers show that state as the one with the highest number of motorcycle deaths per rider in the country: 14.22 deaths per 1,000.
Colorado is right in the middle of the pack, at number 27: 5.42 deaths per 1,000. Is that crazy or what? Mississippi has three times the fatalities Colorado does. What’s going on down there?
These figures come courtesy of QuoteWizard Insurance News, an arm (I presume) of Lending Tree. You can find the complete list at https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/dangerous-states-for-motorcycles.
The safest state is Montana, with only 0.75 deaths per 1,000. Presumably that is due to the wide open spaces up there. Still, that means the Colorado fatality rate is about seven times as high as Montana’s. Is there something else they’re doing right?
I decided to take a look at fatality rates vs. helmet laws. Is there any correlation?
First I looked at states where helmets are required for everyone.
State / Deaths per 1,000
Alabama / 7.04
California / 6.28
Georgia / 6.82
Louisiana / 8.45
Massachusetts / 3.02
Mississippi / 14.22
Missouri / 8.75
Nebraska / 4.84
Nevada / 7.10
New Jersey / 5.43
New York / 3.70
North Carolina / 9.32
Oregon / 3.99
Tennessee / 8.07
Vermont / 4.20
Virginia / 6.03
Washington (state) / 3.46
West Virginia / 4.29
Only three states have no helmet law at all.
Illinois / 4.85
Iowa / 2.47
New Hampshire / 1.90
OK, so this is only a very cursory look. Who knows what other factors come into play. But I find it interesting that in those states with universal helmet requirements the fatality rates are all over the board, from the very worst (Mississippi) to one of the very best (Massachusetts). Meanwhile, two of the three states with no helmet laws have better fatality rates than even Massachusetts.
Don’t ask me what lessons to draw from this but I would definitely say these numbers show that anyone who thinks requiring helmets is a silver bullet cure for motorcycle fatalities is deluding themselves. Anyone care to offer their thoughts on all this?
Biker Quote for Today
It’s just like a video game that has… the element of danger. — Kenny Roberts
