Motorcycles are less stable and less visible than cars. For that reason, they are more likely to be in a crash. A few revealing statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
Motorcycle rider fatalities in 2004 totaled 4008, and 76,000 motorcyclists were injured.
While other types of crashes have also contributed to the net increase in fatalities, motorcycles, which made up about 2 percent of all registered vehicle and 0.4 percent of all vehicle miles traveled (VMT), accounted for over 8 percent of the fatalities in 2003 compared to 5 percent in 1997.
Per mile driven, motorcyclists are about 32 times more likely to die in a crash than a passenger car occupant.
In 2003, fifty two percent of fatally injured motorcycle riders were not helmeted.
Larger motorcycles are figuring more prominently in fatal crashes. The percentage of fatally injured riders of motorcycles with engine displacements of 1,001 to 1,500 cc has risen from about 28 percent in 1993 to about 38 percent in 2002.
Motorcycle drivers or passengers are more exposed, both to general bodily injury and to head injury, and their injuries are often more serious than a comparable impact involving autos.
Added to the mix are road surfaces and obstructions in the road, which can be far more devastating to a motorcyclist. Uneven payment transitions and poor surface create hazardous risks. Bad road design and hazards (street lights, blind corner, low curbing, speed bumps, cobblestones, ruts, debris, uncovered drainage pits) are all perils.
There is also the emotional trauma of the event itself, especially if one flies over the handlebars or is dragged over rough pavement or gravel.
Of the above reasons, motorcycle injuries are expensive because they tend to be very serious and are typically awarded higher damages for pain and suffering beyond damages for actual medical costs or lost wages. Where allowed by law.
Despite the validity of your claim, motorcyclists face an obstacle in the public perception that they are reckless drivers. It is important to address (and overcome) these negative prejudices. An insurance adjuster or opposing attorney may try to suggest that you at least share liability in causing the accident, and may try to put you on the defensive. In other words, regardless of whether there is a helmet law, if you didn't wear one, they may try to paint a picture of you as being careless and contributing to your injuries.
