Each year, thousands of motorcycle riders across the United States experience devastating outcomes, with many sustaining life-altering injuries or losing their lives. Understanding the major causes of death in motorcycle accidents is essential for riders and other drivers to drive safely. 

As you consider the complexities of motorcycle accidents and the potential for fatal outcomes, you need experienced legal representation. Craig Swapp & Associates, a trusted motorcycle accident law firm in Salt Lake City, is dedicated to helping injured riders and families navigate the motorcycle accident death claims.

Motorcycle Accident Statistics 

In 2022, motorcycle fatalities were 6,218, with a rate of 26.16 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled – higher than the risk for passenger car occupants.

Patterns from the NSC data also reveal that:

  • 66% of fatal motorcycle crashes occurred on urban roads
  • 94% happened in good weather conditions
  • 50% took place during daylight hours
  • 55% involved collisions with another vehicle
  • 60% of riders killed were wearing helmets – indicating that while helmet use reduces injury severity, it does not eliminate the risk of death at high crash forces

Motorcycle deaths per state vary widely. For instance, in Utah, the 281 total deaths in 2024 surpassed 2023’s total of 279 deaths in motorcycle accidents.

The variation of death per state reflects differences in riding populations, helmet laws, weather conditions, and road infrastructure, underscoring how local factors influence motorcycle accidents and fatalities. 

Major Causes of Death in Motorcycle Accidents

Head injuries account for the majority of deaths in motorcycle accidents. A 2019 cross-sectional study of 4,205 hospitalized motorcycle accident patients found that  59.7% of all admitted patients had head injuries, and 85.4% of those who died had suffered head trauma. 

Beyond head trauma, other critical causes of death in motorcycle accidents include:

  • Blunt chest trauma and internal organ damage can lead to hemorrhage and cardiac tamponade.
  • Spinal cord injuries, notably at the cervical level, causing respiratory failure or paralysis complications.
  • Multiple system trauma, where combined injuries overwhelm the body’s ability to compensate.
  • Severe extremity injuries leading to life-threatening blood loss or fat embolism syndrome.

These patterns highlight that while protective gear and safer riding habits can mitigate some risks, the high-energy impact of motorcycle collisions often results in injuries incompatible with survival.

Other Serious Injuries That Lead to Motorcycle Death 

Serious injuries that frequently prove fatal include:

  • Aortic Rupture and Major Vessel Lacerations: Rapid deceleration can tear the aorta or other major vessels, causing catastrophic internal bleeding.
  • Pulmonary Contusions: Bruising of lung tissue reduces oxygen exchange, potentially resulting in respiratory failure.
  • Compound Fractures with Vascular Injury: Open fractures may sever major arteries, causing exsanguination if not treated immediately.
  • Spinal Cord Severance: High cervical injuries can disrupt breathing and autonomic functions, often resulting in death.

If left untreated or undiagnosed, these injuries escalate quickly. Rapid emergency response, immediate transport to trauma centers, and advanced medical interventions can sometimes save lives, but prevention remains the most effective measure against death in motorcycle accidents.

Types of Motorcycle Crashes That Lead to Death

Certain crash scenarios disproportionately result in fatalities:

  • Head-On Collisions: At highway speeds, even modest contact can generate enough energy to cause catastrophic injuries. Data show that head-on impacts account for a disproportionately high percentage of motorcycle deaths due to the sudden deceleration and lack of crumple zones that would otherwise absorb energy in passenger vehicles.
  • Left-Turn Crashes: Left-turn collisions occur when a motorist makes an unprotected left turn across the path of an oncoming motorcycle, misjudges the rider’s speed, or simply fails to see the smaller silhouette in their lane. These broadside impacts frequently eject a rider from their motorcycle, increasing the chance of fatal road rash, head injuries, and multiple fractures.
  • Single-Vehicle Run-Off-Road Crashes: Not all fatal motorcycle accidents involve another vehicle. Riders who lose control due to excessive speed, sudden swerves to avoid obstacles, or misjudging a curve can veer off the roadway entirely. When a rider leaves the pavement, they risk striking fixed objects like parked cars, light poles, or steep embankments.
  • High-Speed Highway Crashes: Traveling at high speeds on highways or open roads magnifies every mistake and dramatically increases stopping distances. Even with top-quality protective gear, the human body has limits in absorbing sudden deceleration forces. Fatalities in high-speed crashes often involve a combination of head injuries, internal organ damage, and severe limb fractures.
  • Alcohol-Impaired Crashes: Alcohol and other impairing substances degrade balance, coordination, and reaction times – all of which are critical for safe motorcycle operation. Alcohol-impaired crashes tend to be higher-speed events with delayed braking responses, leading to more severe angles of impact.

Understanding these crash types can help riders adopt defensive strategies, such as maintaining safe speeds, increasing visibility, and avoiding impairment, to reduce their risk of deadly outcomes.

Major Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

Accidents that lead to fatalities often stem from underlying causes such as:

  • Speeding: Exceeding safe speeds reduces reaction time and magnifies impact energy. In collisions, impact forces grow exponentially with speed, making injuries far more severe.
  • Driver Inattention or Distracted Driving: Car drivers who fail to see motorcycles can cause side-impact collisions. Research indicates that distracted driving is a factor in many motorcycle-involved crashes.
  • Alcohol and Drug Impairment: Impairment behind the handlebars severely compromises judgment and motor control. Even prescription medications with sedative effects can slow reaction times, while illicit substances add risk of overconfidence and poor decision-making.
  • Lack of Helmet Use: Helmet noncompliance remains a major driver of motorcycle mortality. While helmets cannot guarantee survival in every crash, riders who go without are roughly twice as likely to suffer fatal head injuries.
  • Road Hazards: Unlike automobiles, motorcycles lack the stability to easily absorb bumps, potholes, loose gravel, or oil slicks. Riders encountering such hazards must instantly adjust speed and posture; even then, sudden loss of traction can precipitate a fatal crash.
  • Inexperienced Riders: New motorcyclists often underestimate the skill needed to handle shifting weight, countersteering at speed, and emergency braking. Rookie errors, like grabbing too much front brake or leaning too far in a turn, can lead to low-side slides or high-side ejections.

Public awareness campaigns, graduated licensing programs, and stricter helmet laws have helped reduce some risks, but ongoing education and enforcement are needed to address the persistent causes of death in motorcycle accidents.

How to Avoid a Fatal Motorcycle Accident 

Many of the most dangerous motorcycle crashes can be prevented through proper preparation, training, and awareness. By adopting safe riding habits and maintaining your motorcycle, you can dramatically reduce the likelihood of a fatal motorcycle accident.

  • Choose Proper Protective Gear: One of the simplest yet most effective ways to prevent life-threatening injuries is to wear high-quality protective equipment, such as a DOT-approved helmet, riding jackets and pants, gloves and boots, and high-visibility accents. 
  • Take Advanced Rider Training: Many states, including Utah, offer state-sponsored or private advanced rider schools. Investing in your skills pays dividends in crash prevention.
  • Maintain Your Motorcycle: A well-tuned bike responds predictably under critical conditions. Establish a pre-ride and routine maintenance checklist. A well-maintained motorcycle gives you the confidence to react swiftly when hazards arise.
  • Practice Defensive Riding: Defensive riding means assuming other motorists may not see you and preparing accordingly. By riding defensively, you reduce your reliance on reacting purely in split seconds, lessening the chance of being involved in a fatal collision.
  • Increase Visibility: Motorcycles are smaller and less conspicuous than cars. Visibility tactics help overcome “look-but-fail-to-see” collisions, one of the leading types of motorcycle-car crashes.
  • Obey Traffic Laws and Speed Limits: Speeding reduces the time you have to react and increases the force of impact in a crash. Following the rules of the road not only keeps you safe but also helps you avoid civil or criminal liability if a crash occurs. 
  • Recognize and Respond to Road Hazards: Motorcycles react differently to road imperfections. Learning to read the road ahead gives you more time to prepare corrective maneuvers.
  • Plan Your Route and Monitor Weather: Unexpected changes in weather or unfamiliar roads can raise crash risk. A well-planned journey minimizes surprises and lessens the chances of ending up in a dangerous situation. 

Avoiding a fatal motorcycle accident requires a proactive approach. However, if you or a loved one suffers a serious crash despite these precautions, prompt legal guidance is essential to recover compensation for death in motorcycle crashes. 

Compensation for Fatal Motorcycle Accidents

When a loved one dies in a motorcycle accident, surviving family members may pursue compensation through wrongful death and survival actions. 

Under Utah’s Wrongful Death Act, eligible beneficiaries, including spouses, children, and parents, can recover damages for:

  • Loss of Financial Support:  Courts calculate the present value of the decedent’s expected future earnings and benefits that the family has lost. For example, if a 30-year-old rider earning $50,000 annually died, an actuary might project lost wages over the decedent’s remaining work life, discounted to present value.
  • Household Services and Childcare: If the decedent contributed to household chores, childcare, or eldercare, the value of those services can be quantified. 
  • Funeral and Burial Expenses: Reasonable funeral, burial, and related costs – up to the statutory limit – are recoverable. Itemized receipts and vendor invoices typically support these claims.
  • Noneconomic Losses: These are more subjective damages meant to compensate for emotional harm. Utah law allows spouses, children, and parents to recover for the loss of love, comfort, and companionship.

A survival action, filed on behalf of the decedent’s estate, allows recovery for losses suffered between the time of injury and death, including medical expenses and pain and suffering. 

  • Pre-Death Medical Expenses: All reasonable and necessary medical bills incurred from the time of injury until death, including emergency transport, surgery, and inpatient care. 
  • Pain and Suffering of the Decedent: Compensation for the physical and emotional anguish endured between the accident and death.

Both wrongful death and survival actions in Utah have a 2-year statute of limitations. Missing this deadline typically bars recovery. Utah’s statute specifies that spouses, children, and parents have standing. If no spouse, child, or parent survives, more distant relatives such as siblings may bring suit.

How to File Fatal Motorcycle Accident Claims

Pursuing a fatal motorcycle accident claim involves several critical steps:

  • Obtain the Death Certificate: A certified document establishing cause and time of death.
  • Preserve Evidence: Secure police reports, helmet condition photos, roadway surveillance footage, and witness statements.
  • Identify Liable Parties: This may include negligent motorists, manufacturers of defective motorcycle parts, or governmental entities responsible for road maintenance hazards.
  • Quantify Damages: Work with economists, actuaries, and life-care planners to calculate lost earnings, benefits, and noneconomic losses.
  • Meet Filing Deadlines: File in the appropriate court before the statute of limitations expires, noting Utah’s 2-year deadline and comparable limits in other states.
  • Negotiate or Litigate: Present a thorough demand package; if insurers undervalue your claim, prepare for trial.

Given procedural complexities, tight deadlines, and aggressive insurance defense tactics, engaging a Salt Lake City motorcycle accident attorney is vital to protect your rights and maximize compensation.

Why Seek Legal Help After a Motorcycle Accident

The aftermath of a fatal motorcycle crash is fraught with emotional turmoil and complex legal hurdles. 

A seasoned Salt Lake City motorcycle accident attorney can:

  • Conduct a Comprehensive Investigation: Partnering with reconstruction experts, medical professionals, and engineers to establish liability and causation.
  • Handle Insurance Negotiations: Preventing insurance companies from minimizing payouts by aggressively advocating for full damages.
  • Ensure Statutory Compliance: Tracking filing deadlines, governmental notice requirements (if a public road defect is involved), and court procedures.
  • Accurately Calculate and Prove Damages: Leveraging expert testimony to substantiate economic losses, loss of consortium, and punitive damages where appropriate.
  • Represent You at Trial: Delivering compelling arguments to juries and judges when settlements cannot achieve just results.

If you’ve suffered the tragic loss of a loved one, consulting a Salt Lake City motorcycle accident attorney can ensure you meet critical deadlines and pursue the full compensation you deserve. Craig Swapp & Associates provides legal representation in Utah and also serves in Idaho, Washington, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona. 

Call us at 866-308-3626 after a fatal motorcycle accident or fill out our contact form to schedule your free consultation.

Written By: Ryan Swapp     Legal Review By: Craig Swapp