Texas is the Third Most Dangerous State for Motorcyclists

Austin personal injury attorney Chip Evans said the state ranks among the worst in the nation for motorcycle safety. Texas is behind only South Carolina and Mississippi in the number of number of motorcycle fatalities per registered motorcycles.

 Texas is the third leading state in the nation in the rate of motorcycle fatalities per registered motorcycles. Personal injury attorney Chip Evans said that the numbers are alarming, though not surprising.

"Too many drivers simply aren't informed about how to safely share the road with motorcyclists," said Chip Evans. "We decided to run the numbers to find out how serious the problem is in our state, and the results were not encouraging for Texas bikers."

The firm compared the number of registered motorcycles against the number of motorcycle fatalities in all 50 states using data from 2015, the most recent year for which comprehensive statistics for both categories were available. The firm found that the rate of motorcycle deaths per registered motorcycles was highest in South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, Florida and North Carolina.

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, a safety campaign which encourages drivers to safely share the road with motorcyclists. Safety advocates say that drivers should always leave plenty of space between their vehicle and a motorcycle. Drivers should also be aware that judging the distance and speed of a motorcycle is different than it is with other vehicles, said Evans.

"If you see a motorcycle approaching at an intersection, you should think twice before making a left turn," Evans said. "These vehicles might be closer and traveling faster than you realize. That's just one example of how drivers can make roads safer for themselves and bikers."

In 2015, there were 387,149 motorcycles registered for use in Texas, according to Statista. That same year, there were 422 motorcycle fatalities, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. By comparison, California had slightly more motorcycle fatalities, 449, though they had more than double the number of registered motorcycles, 828,883.

In conjunction with Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, the Texas Department of Transportation annually launches its "Share the Road: Look Twice for Motorcycles" campaign. TxDOT said 493 riders lost their lives and 2,006 were seriously injured in Texas motorcycle crashes in 2016. Evans said those numbers show that the problem is getting worse.

"All motorists have experienced a growing threat on our roads," Evans. "Over the past two years, vehicle fatalities have soared. Unfortunately, motorcyclists are also a casualty in this disturbing trend."

About Chip Evans:
Chip Evans is the owner and lead lawyer at the Evans Law Firm. He has more than 15 years of experience as a trial lawyer representing Plaintiffs. He is licensed in all the Texas State Courts and in the Western District of Texas Federal Court. He is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the American Board of Trial Advocates.

About the Findings:
Our research was based on numbers from Statista and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The number of registered vehicles was divided by the number of fatalities. For consistency and accuracy, we limited our research to 2015. That was the latest year for which motorcycle registration estimates were current.
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