Due to the lack of protective structure in motorcycles, riders are highly susceptible to serious injuries in accidents. Very often, a biker in a collision suffers an initial impact injury from being hit by a car or truck, and a secondary impact injury from hitting the asphalt, ground, guardrail, or other surfaces. Sometimes the motorcycle lands on top of the rider, or the rider may be thrown, dragged, or run over by the car, truck, or motorcycle.
According to NHTSA, while motorcycles made up only 0.7 percent of vehicle miles traveled, motorcyclists were over 24 percent times more likely to die in a crash and four times more likely to be injured per mile traveled compared to car occupants.
In recent years, the number of fatal motorcycle wrecks has been on the rise. The NHTSA attributes this, in part, to the increasing prevalence of motorcycles on roads. The rise in motorcycle usage, coupled with increasing traffic volumes, heightens the risk of severe motorcycle accidents. In South Carolina alone, 173 motorcyclists lost their lives in crashes in 2021, as reported by SCDPS.
