Data: 581 motorcyclists died in 2024 in Texas
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Data from The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows approximately 8.8 million registered motorcycles throughout the country. That is more than double from 4.3 million in 2002 to 8.8 million in 2023.
“When you’re riding, it engages all your senses. You’re actually hyper aware,” said Andrea Yu with The Motorcycle Safety Foundation.
The Texas Department of Transportation urges drivers to be extra aware of motorcyclists and safely share the road.
“A lot of car drivers don’t realize that motorcyclists quickly disappear in their blind spots and even though they may have blind spot detectors in their cars, those detectors don’t always pick up motorcyclists because we have just a much smaller profile,” explained Yu.
“So we ask always, check twice, maybe three times. Use your mirrors, turn your head and really check your blind spot before you’re merging or making that turn.”
Numbers from TxDOT show that in 2024, 581 riders died and 2,534 were seriously injured in crashes.
Distracted driving is also not helping, according to safety experts.
“Driving at just 65 miles per hour, you can cover over 100 feet in one second, so the four or five seconds it takes for you to send a text message, you can cover more than a football field, and a lot can happen in that time,” Yu said.
Yu is a motorcycle safety expert and rider coach. She teaches motorcyclists how to ride safely and the latest technology available to them.
“New technology, like airbag vests and airbag jackets you can wear. They use sensors and algorithms. They will sense when a crash is about to happen and deploy faster than a blink of an eye,” Yu said.
The most important safety gear, according to experts, is a helmet that meets federal safety standards.
Explore TxDOT’s newest motorcycle safety campaign online.
