On an average, in the past five years (2002 to 2006), one-fourth (25%) of motorcycle operators fatally injured in fatal crashes were operating their motorcycles with invalid licenses (either did not have the license or did not have an endorsement) compared to about 15 percent for fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers. This data is from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). The proportion of fatally injured motorcycle operators with invalid licenses involved in fatal crashes as a trend in each of the past five years has remained about the same, varying between 24 percent and 26 percent. Table 1 below shows five-year trend data of fatally injured motorcycle operators by license status. The increasing trend in the total motorcycle operators killed is consistent with the increasing trend of total motorcycle rider fatalities. For recent trends in fatal motorcycle crashes, refer to an earlier report released in June 2006 at: http://www.nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810606.PDF (Author/publisher)
Abstract