In another article Good News or Bad News? Crash Involvement Rates: Automobiles vs. Motorcycles, I have shown that motorcyclists' crash involvement rate is already significantly LOWER than that of automobile drivers. A question I would like to ask is the following: Is our perception that motorcycles are dangerous justified?

The following table is from that article.

Vehicles Involved in Crashes by Vehicle Type, Crash Severity, and Registration

Vehicle Type	Crash Severity						Crash Total		Registration
	Fatal		Injury		Property Damage Only
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Passenger Car	27,429	48.8	2,279,000	62.5	4,399,000	59.2	6,705,000	60.3	128,714,022	58.4
Light Truck	20,722	36.9	1,218,000	33.4	2,679,000	36.1	3,918,000	35.2	79,005,848	35.8
Large Truck	4,793	8.5	90,000	2.5	335,000	4.5	429,000	3.9	7,857,674	3.6
Motorcycle	3,249	5.8	57,000	1.6	14,000	0.2	74,000	0.7	4,903,056	2.2
Total	56,193	100.0	3,644,000	100.0	7,427,000	100.0	11,126,000	100.0	220,480,600	100.0

Using the data in the above table, we can calculate how much each group of fatal, injury, and property damage only crashes represents in all crashes for different vehicle types.

The following table is the result of the calculation.

Percent of Crashes by Vehicle Type and Severity, 2001

Vehicle Type	Crash Severity						Crash Total
	Fatal		Injury		Property Damage Only
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Passenger Car	27,429	0.41	2,279,000	33.99	4,399,000	65.61	6,705,000	100.00
Light Truck	20,722	0.53	1,218,000	31.09	2,679,000	68.38	3,918,000	100.00
Large Truck	4,793	1.12	90,000	20.98	335,000	78.09	429,000	100.00
Motorcycle	3,249	4.39	57,000	77.03	14,000	18.92	74,000	100.00

The table clearly shows that once a vehicle is involved in a crash, the likelihood of that crash becoming a fatal or injury crash is much higher for motorcycles than for passenger cars, light trucks, and large trucks. The following graphical representation of these percent data is rather stunning.

If you are driving an automobile and get involved in a crash, your chance of coming out uninjured or killed is about two thirds (65.61%).

If you are riding a motorcycle and get involved in a crash, your chance of coming out uninjured or killed is less than one fifth (18.92%).

The right answer to the question raised at the beginning seems a strong YES.