The number of impaired (BAC>= .08) motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes has increased the past few years. However, the proportional increase of impaired operators is lower than the proportional increase of total operators involved (see Figure 1 below). The number of motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes has increased by 38 percent, from 2,971 in 2000 to 4,095 in 2004, whereas the number of impaired motorcycle operators has increased only by 18 percent, from 944 in 2000 to 1,117 in 2004. Impaired motorcycle operators as a proportion of total motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes has declined from 32 percent in 2000 to 27 percent in 2004. In 2004, a higher percent of motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes had blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher, than any other type of motor vehicle. This data is from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which annually collects crash statistics from 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and is made available by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA).
Abstract