Natalie Hausmann
The Buffalo News, N.Y.
NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — Multiple reasons account for the rise in crashes involving motorcycles, including a series of crashes this summer in Western New York .
But one reason appears to top them all: the growing number of people riding motorcycles.
Over the last 10 years, the number of registered motorcycles has increased 13%, according to the National Safety Council. And with more motorists, the chance of a collision increases, especially during the warmer months when more people have the opportunity to ride.
The most recent crash sent three motorcyclists to the hospital Monday night after a collision in Niagara County . Motorcyclists riding in a pack crashed into a guardrail on Townline Road before 911 calls were made for injuries in Cambria .
Braydon Hummel , 20, was airlifted by Mercy Flight to ECMC for bleeding and a severe leg injury, according to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s deputies had to tourniquet the 20-year-old male for a damaged artery before transporting him for serious but not life-threatening injuries. Shane Guthrie , 31, and Kelsey Flury , 27, were driven by ambulance to the same hospital with minor injuries.
This is at least the fifth serious motorcycle crash in Western New York this summer, with fatalities rising to four just last week.
On Sunday afternoon, a 35-year-old Jamestown man was killed after his motorcycle hit a tree. One week earlier, a 26-year-old Jamestown man died after crashing his motorcycle into a telephone pole. And earlier in the summer, two motorcyclists died after separate deer-motorcycle collisions in Niagara and Genesee counties, respectively. One crash occurred overnight and the other around 7 a.m.
Data from 2023 analyzed by the National Safety Council shows that both videomotorcycle crashes and fatalities have been steadily rising nationwide. Death rates have increased 36% over the past 10 years, with the injury rate jumping 19% between 2022 and 2023.
A majority of 2023 fatalities happened on urban roads and in good weather. Most motorists who died that same year were wearing helmets and were not alcohol impaired. And in alignment with crashes in the region, crash times were almost evenly split between daytime and nighttime.
The single most important determinant in motorcycle fatalities in 2023 was the number of vehicles involved in the crash, with the majority of deaths resulting from crashes involving two vehicles.
In New York , there are more than 750,000 licensed motorcyclists, according to the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee . The state says this number continues to increase each year.
And because of the inherent increased risk of injury and death for motorcyclists without the protection of car doors around them, motorcycle fatalities are significantly overrepresented in total vehicle crash fatalities in New York .
While New York State has not released this type of crash data, the New York City Department of Transportation found that crashes are “much more likely to occur during warmer months” as well.
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