Minnesota Accident statistics

[dduelin]

I'm not going to type the words out but I strongly identify with what the trucker said right after it happened

Target fixation is awful when it goes wrong. That's why I still tell myself to look where I wanna go, not where I don't!

Yes, I meant to warn about the language.

 

[melensdad]

Well if people keep driving into guard rails and over cliffs then maybe Honda is onto something with their new steering-assist patent?

Honda Applies for Patent on Steering Assist System - Adventure Rider

The self-driving automobile, or autonomous vehicle (AV), is slowly but surely creeping towards reality, […]

advrider.com

 

[the Ferret]

I once was asked to escort a forum member to a rally in Virginia. The young man from Chicago first came to my house. I met him part way and led him in because I live in the country and it can be a little tricky. The roads are curvy and even though I wasn't going fast, he kept falling way behind. When we got to my house I asked him about it and he said he was from Chicago and had never ridden curves. We were headed for the Back of the Dragon the next day so that evening I took him out on some curvy roads for practice. He kept crossing the double yellow so I pulled him over and told him if he kept running into the other lane he was going to die. I told him if he started to drift out he could correct it by pushing harder on the inside bar and I swear he said " Oh, that makes NO sense". I got him to Virginia ok, but you guessed it, he ran off the road down there at the rally and crashed. Luckily he wasn't hurt, but elected to ride home on the freeway by himself.

Under skilled and over motorcycled.

 

[Lomunchi]

This is a great topic. And not in some morbid way like the TV shows my wife watches. I also wish there was a little more information, particularly mechanism of injury. This shows the 2 people who died were not wearing helmets, but was head injury why they died? For what it's worth I feel wearing a helmet is a personal choice, but making the choice not to wear one shows there is not much up there to protect anyway.

I was given a 30 page manual that diced the accidents as well as deaths over the past 5 years slicing and dicing the numbers a million ways. I can't exactly scan it in but when you aggregate the data there are some very clear trends. For accidents and deaths; Alcohol. Just plain and simply, you can't deny it. BAM!
Deaths are obviously much more prevalent without a helmet.
Young people are higher for accidents, older riders are higher in deaths (by percentage) and rising.
Unlicensed riders are higher for accidents than licensed (though that stat has a lot of assumptions about the numbers of unlicensed riders.
And rural tends to be higher for deaths, which makes sense due to speed.

Time of day has some interesting curves to it as well. I'll see what I can pull out and post from the greater stats.

 

[melensdad]

...
And rural tends to be higher for deaths, which makes sense due to speed.

Time of day has some interesting curves to it as well. I'll see what I can pull out and post from the greater stats.

Never thought much about rural vs urban, but now that I do, it is pretty obvious that I travel at far faster speeds on rural roads than in the suburbs/cities. Even if I strictly stick to posted speed limits a rural crash at 45mph is going to hurt a lot more than an urban crash at 30, just considering the slide alone. Urban I tend to worry more about getting HIT by SOMEONE ELSE, but I think rural the bigger risk may be the rider HITTING SOMETHING.

Very curious about TIME OF DAY. I'd wonder if it goes up at both dawn & dusk when the sun is lower and the glare is higher??? Or is it rush hour? Or is it even seasonal when rush hour coincides with a sun low on the horizon???

 

[the Ferret]

all of that makes a lot of sense

 

[Lomunchi]

Through 3 weeks of April, Crash data attached

​

 

[Lomunchi]

Data through about May 20th.
A quiet year so far for Motorcycle deaths in MN, thank God.

 

[melensdad]

Data through about May 20th.
A quiet year so far for Motorcycle deaths in MN, thank God.

Thank you for these updates.

They are enlightening and I hope you can continue to provide them in the future.

 

[mzflorida]

I think a lack of training has a lot to do with it. Many older riders starting back in on large cruisers they always wanted assume skills from 30 years ago will still serve them today. They fail to take appropriate steps to ensure they’re properly acclimated

Absolutely. I took a long break when I had kids and returned to riding in 2016. I took MSF at Harley Davidson's facility twice before buying my NC. Went to advanced training before buying my VFR. I am now selling my VFR and likely going back to the NC because "me," the bike relative to me, how I ride and what I want to get out of it have all changed...partially because my wife gave up riding suddenly (safety concerns). I think it is also important to use the wisdom we gain as we get older to evaluate the environments we ride within. In SW Florida, for example, the tourist population is more persistent today than it was even a few years ago. Distracted and impaired operation of vehicles is out of control. Traffic to get to where I want to ride is insane. Compared to where I used to ride in the Midwest 20-some odd years ago, a very forgiving environment if I were to make a mistake, the level of skills development/maintenance one needs is just incomparable. And though the physics of riding have not changed the power that bikes have today is just so much greater than it was back then.

 

[Lomunchi]

Unfortunately MC deaths in MN spiked in June and are back up. Statistics attached.

 

[Janus]

Is there a compilation of all incidents, not just fatal crashes? I'm curious how the former compare to the latter

 

[melensdad]

Is there a compilation of all incidents, not just fatal crashes? I'm curious how the former compare to the latter

I would hope that at the END of season we not only see a total compilation but also it would be helpful to see a cross references of the data points.

15 of the accidents occurred in curves. 1 in a low speed turn. That doesn't tell us much unless we can also know if those 16 accidents are single vehicle accidents or 2 vehicle accidents.

I'd almost bet that 15 (or close to that number) were bikers that rode off a curve without another vehicle involved. And I'd almost bet that the single low speed turn was a biker hit by a car. But without being able to cross reference the data points everything is just conjecture.

 

[Lomunchi]

Is there a compilation of all incidents, not just fatal crashes? I'm curious how the former compare to the latter

Yes there is. I'll probably get updated data on Thursday and will share it as I can.

 

[Rabbit]

If I took over the world I would make everyone ride motorcycles. Sic semper motorcyclus

All hail Lord Janus!

 

[Lomunchi]

Latest data for Minnesota:
There have been 62 motorcyclists killed in 61 crashes so far in 2021. There were 64 motorcyclists killed
in 62 crashes in 2020, according to preliminary reports. There has been one autocycle fatality so far in
2021.
2021 Motorcycle Rider Deaths Statistics

Helmet use
o19 riders were wearing a helmet.
o41 riders were not wearing a helmet.
oIt’s unknown if 2 of the riders were wearing a helmet.

Single-vehicle crashes vs. Multi-vehicle crashes
o28 of the crashes involved only the motorcycle
o33 of the crashes involved a motorcycle and another vehicle; including a tractor.

Three-wheeled motorcycle fatalities
o0 of the fatalities involved a three-wheeled motorcycle.

Motorcycle vs. animal
o2 crashes involved the rider colliding with an animal. Both were deer.

Passengers killed
o2 passengers have died in motorcycle crashes.

Motorcycle License Endorsement
o38 of the operators had a valid motorcycle license endorsement or permit.
o20 of the operators did not have a valid motorcycle license endorsement or permit.
o It’s presently unknown if X of the operators had a valid motorcycle license endorsement.

Negotiating a curve
o22 of the crashes involved a rider negotiating a curve.
o1 of the crashes involved a rider negotiating a low speed turn.

Rider deaths by age:
oUnder 20: - 1
o20’s: 4
o30’s: 11
o40’s: 23
o50’s: 9
o60’s: 8
o70’s: 4
o80’s: -
o90’s: 1

Rural vs. urban area
o28 of the crashes happened in a rural area.
o33 of the crashes happened in an urban area.

 

[Lomunchi]

Attached is Crash/injury data. It's nearly year end for MN riding season.

 

[TNHoosier]

Some interesting data would be if those involved in a crash had received any professional training and how long before the crash. When I was a Rider Coach, the data we were given said that rider training provides a positive impact for approximately 6 months. After 6 months, bad habits begin to develop combined with lack of practice (i.e. winter months) and skills degrade.

In my experience, students of advanced age and "self taught / had been riding for years" had more difficulty in the class.

 

[Rabbit]

Here’s a question about this. Are there any statistics on if you’re more likely to bounce of slide during a crash? Bohn body armor swears you’ll bounce more, the leather guys swear it’s all slide. I think I’ve heard tumble and bounce more on the road and slide on the track. Anyone have data to confirm or deny that?