As if Texas drivers wanted another reason to obey the foundations of the street: The Lone Star State now holds the undesirable distinction of being essentially the most harmful state for motorcyclists.
A brand new examine from private harm regulation agency Nicolet Regulation assigns a motorcyclist danger rating to Texas of 99 out of 100. At No. 2 is Louisiana, with a rating of 77.
The examine bases the scores on elements such because the variety of lethal bike crashes per 100,000 bikes, the variety of motorcyclists killed vs. the variety of motorcyclists concerned in crashes, common annual rainfall, street circumstances, alcohol and drug impairment, and speed-related visitors deaths.
The worst of the examine’s findings: Texas ranks first within the nation for the typical variety of deaths per 100,000 bikes — 133. It additionally lands at No. 1 for the variety of motorcyclists concerned in lethal crashes per 100,000 bikes (148) and the variety of speed-related deaths per 100,000 bikes (60).
Final 12 months, 581 motorcyclists died on Texas roads, based on the Texas Division of Transportation. In excellent news, that’s down barely from the 2023 dying toll of 599.
“The latest surge in bike purchases and rising gasoline costs have led extra Texans to decide on bikes as their major transportation,” say the examine’s authors. “This pattern, mixed with Texas’ in depth freeway system and excessive pace limits, creates distinctive security challenges.”
Texas truly isn’t the state with essentially the most registered bikes. California ranks first in that class, with Texas in sixth place, based on 2023 federal knowledge.
Nonetheless, Southern states dominate the checklist of most harmful locations for bike riders.
The highest 10 deadliest states for motorcyclists are:
1. Texas2. Louisiana3. South Carolina4. Arkansas5. Missouri6. Tennessee7. Florida8. Mississippi9. Nevada10. Arizona
“The dialog about bike security usually stops at accident numbers, however the actual challenge runs deeper,” says Russell Nicolet, president of Nicolet Regulation. “Driving represents freedom for a lot of, but it additionally exposes gaps in how we design roads, educate drivers, and put together communities for shared accountability. Till security is considered not as a person rider’s burden however as a collective cultural and infrastructural precedence, motorcyclists will stay uniquely weak.”
