Michigan Motorcycle Fatality Statistics
There was a total of 141 motorcycle deaths in Michigan in 2015, according to information provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This number is a significant increase from 2014 when there were 112. However, it is close to the numbers reported for 2012 and 2013. The lowest point was in 2009 with 109 and the highest number was for 2015 for the past decade.
A total of 75 of the fatality victims were wearing their helmets at the time of the crash while another 57 did not and nine were unknown. Michigan does have a helmet law in place, which requires any rider 20 years old and younger to wear a helmet. Riders over the age of 20 may not wear a helmet if they have additional health insurance and pass a motorcycle safety course.
Michigan has a 57 percent helmet usage rate. This rate saved 48 lives in 2015, but another 23 lives may have been saved if the rate had been 100 percent. The helmet usage rate has been increasing over the past few years, but it is down from 2011 when it was at 91 percent.
The state had 258,413 registered motorcycles in 2014 with a fatality rate per 100,000 of 43.34. This rate is down from previous years while registrations have varied only a few thousand.
The victims of these accidents ranged in age. Those between 20 and 29 and 50 and 59 make up the majority of victims with 36 each. Those under the age of 20 had the lowest number of fatalities with three.
Around half of the counties in Michigan reported at least one motorcycle-related death in 2015 with four counties reporting between six and 15 and one county reporting between 26 and 35. Wayne County, located in the far southeastern part of the state, had the highest total with 30 for the year. This is a dramatic increase from 10 for 2014.