Traffic fatalities are down; motorcycle fatalities are up

You may have seen the news story the other day about highway fatalities being down in 2009 from previous years.

That’s great news.

What isn’t so great is that motorcycle deaths are up — and up a lot. In Oklahoma, the number of people killed in motorcycle crashes increased from 65 in 2006 to 74 in 2007 to 87 in 2008.

This information comes from the Oklahoma Traffic Data Linkage Project, a joint effort of the state Health Department and the state Highway Safety Office.

The project has generated all kinds of statistics related to 2007 motorcycle crashes in the state. For example:

• Fifty-four percent of injury crashes occurred Friday through Sunday.

• The most common factor causing these crashes was unsafe speed.

• Two-thirds of those who died in motorcycle crashes were not wearing helmets.

• The median hospital charge was 30 percent higher for non-helmeted people ($36,358) than for people who were wearing a motorcycle helmet ($27,970).

• Seventeen percent of total crash victims and 32 percent of drivers who died were impaired by alcohol.

These drivers also were most likely to be riding without a helmet.

Chuck Mai is vice president of public affairs for AAA Oklahoma. E-mail him at chuck.mai@aaaok.org.