Must Know Crash Stats
The popularity of motorcycles has steadily grown since the 1950s. The rise in popularity has increased the number of motorcycles on the road and the types of motorcycles being produced.
Illinois has approximately 320,000 registered motorcycles in the State. In 2018 there were 21,120 motorcycle accidents in Illinois. This involved 44,052 people and resulted in 3,189 injuries and 119 deaths. The number of deaths in relation to the number of accidents is concerning. However, given the nature of motorcycles, it is hard to avoid serious injury if you are involved in a motorcycle accident in Chicago. Motorcycle accidents are statistically more dangerous and more likely to be fatal or to cause permanent injury. This is why many advocate groups have focused on safety and accident prevention.
Below are some frequently asked questions with data from the most recent available year of 2018.
How many motorcycle accidents are there each year in Illinois?
From the data that is available to us 21,120 motorcycle accidents occurred in Illinois in 2018 alone.
How many people died in motorcycle collisions in Illinois?
In 2018, 119 people died in motorcycle collisions within the State of Illinois.
Leading Counties in Illinois for Motorcycle Accidents:
- Cook County: 711
- DuPage County: 150
- Will County: 130
- Lake County: 95
- Madison County: 65
- McHenry County: 62
- Kane County: 61
- St. Clair County: 60
- Sangamon County: 59
- Winnebago County: 50
- Peoria County: 42
- Champaign County: 40
Of the 119 motorcycle accident deaths in Illinois in 2018, 105 were men, 15 were female, 58 occurred on rural roads, and 61 occurred on urban roadways.
If you compare auto accidents in 2018 in the state of Illinois from the 296,026 accidents that occurred there were only 579 fatalities. That is a 0.2 % fatality rate as opposed to motorcycle accidents in Illinois in 2018 which had a 0.6% fatality rate.
The age group with the most motorcycle accidents in 2018 were riders ages 21-34 who were involved in 810 accidents.
Of the 119 deaths that occurred from motorcycle accidents only 31 were wearing a helmet.