Research & Data
Motorcycles
Motorcyclists are especially vulnerable to serious or fatal injury when a crash occurs. Study findings should be useful to the state’s alcohol and highway safety community in the development of countermeasures that address the issues.
Research Notes & Reports
Motorcyclists & Alcohol Impaired Driving
In 2013, a study by ITSMR found that motorcycle licenses, motorcycle registrations and the three-year moving averages for alcohol-related fatal and personal injury motorcycle crashes were all on a general upward trend during the five-year period, 2008-2012. The study further found that 27% of the fatal MC crashes and 3% of the personal injury MC crashes were alcohol-related.
Because MC licenses and registrations have been on a downward trend over the past few years, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) recently funded ITSMR to update its 2013 study. This 2019 study focused on police-reported fatal and personal injury (F&PI) motorcycle crashes, with an emphasis on alcohol-related F&PI motorcycle crashes, that occurred during the five-year period 2014-2018.
Key Findings
- Over the five year period, 2014-2018, 26% of the fatal MC crashes were alcohol-related; less than 3% of the personal injury MC crashes were alcohol-related.
- 51% of the impaired motorcyclists were ages 21-39; 46% of the impaired motorcyclists had “unsafe speed” reported as a contributing factor.
- MOTORCYCLISTS AND ALCOHOL-IMPAIRED DRIVING
(Published November 2019) - Download Full Report
Fact Sheets
Motorcycle Crashes 2018-2022
December 2023
Motorcycle Crashes 2017-2021
December 2022
Motorcycle Crashes 2016-2020
November 2021
Motorcycle Crashes 2015-2019
November 2020
Motorcycle Crashes 2014-2018
October 2019
Motorcycle Crashes 2013-2018
October 2018
Motorcycle Crashes 2012-2016
October 2017
Discover more data in the Traffic Safety Statistical Repository (TSSR)
Developed to provide broader access to New York’s traffic safety data, the TSSR contains motor vehicle crash data obtained from the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Accident Information System (AIS) over the past 10 years, including preliminary data for the current year.