Splatt's Motorcycle Citation Database

"There are lies, damned lies and statistics" ~Mark Twain

"Helmet use is a safety issue--helmet law is politics"---Roger Hull

California Motorcycle Statistics 1970-2009
Year	Registered Motorcycles	M1 License Endorsements	Accidents	Fatalities	Injuries	Fatality Rate Per 100 Accidents	Notes
1970	561,621
1971	608,180
1972	611,580
1973	624,695
1974	665,273
1975	661,231
1976	660,977
1977	671,644
1978	655,950
1979	713,820
Year	Registered Motorcycles	M1 License Endorsements	Accidents	Fatalities	Injuries	Fatality Rate Per 100 Accidents	Notes
1980	737,774
1981	731,310
1982	678,174
1983	695,813
1984	695,251
1985	702,782
Helmets Required 151/2 & Under
1986	699,239		29,742	840			Source: SMSA
1987	674,742
AB 412, California Motorcyclist Safety Program Implemented July, 1987
1988	653,553	822,416
AB 3255, rider training mandatory for those under 18
1989	631,586	847,369
Year	Registered Motorcycles	M1 License Endorsements	Accidents	Fatalities	Injuries	Fatality Rate Per 100 Accidents	Notes
1990	628,860	842,145
1991	639,388	838,676	15,891	511		3.22
AB 55, rider training mandatory for those under 21
1992	583,222	832,895	11,841	325		2.74
AB 7, Helmet Law for adults begins Jan. 1, 1992
1993	557,986	825,350	10,650	303		2.85
1994	527,686	820,539	9,572	291		3.04
AB 229, Pass CMSP Waive DMV Skills Test, the birth of the DL 389.
1995	518,120	832,732	8,404	261		3.11
1996	511,637	829,614	7,615	232		3.05
Easyriders vs Hannnigan
1997	391,080	830,971	7,188	238	6,950	3.27
Registrations Record Low
1998	397,032	832,504	6,166	200	5,967	3.24
AB 1412 fails
1999	413,676	844,011	6,753	230	6,519	3.41	SB 1197, delayed
Year	Registered Motorcycles	M1 License Endorsements	Accidents	Fatalities	Injuries	Fatality Rate Per 100 Accidents	Notes
2000	450,030	864,836	7,456	275	7,180	3.69	SB 1197, no action
2001	495,271 *1	906,144 *1	8,209	295	8,357	3.59	SB 1057,
2002	536,060 *2	948,277 *2	8,726	318	8,688	3.64
AB 2700, fails. SB 1057 fails.
2003	569,226	975,681	9,614	369	9,254	3.84
CMSP Trains Nearly 40,000 Riders. AB 1200 delayed
2004	N/A	N/A	N/A	Media finally acknowledges rising death toll WITH helmets.	N/A	Death Rate Soars
MSF "steals" CMSP. AB 1200, dies in committee.
2005	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ABATE Modernizes Handlebar Height Law Jan. 1, 2005
2006	Ride Safe	Get the Skills 1-877-RIDE-411	Don't Drink & Ride	Get Involved	Join a Motorcycle Rights Organization	Ride To Work Day Wednesday July 19, 2006
2007
2008
2009
Sources 1 2001 SWITRS Persons Killed and Injured by Extent of Injury by Type of Vehicle http://www.chp.ca.gov/pdf/2001-sec4.pdf 2 2002 SWITRS: http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/switrs2002.html#section7 http://www.chp.ca.gov/switrs/xls/2003-sec7.xls California Highway Patrol Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System http://www.chp.ca.gov/pdf/2001-sec1.pdf http://www.chp.ca.gov/pdf/2001-sec7.pdf About SWITRS http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/aiuswitrs.html Excellent treatise on the subject:http://www.abate.org/lio/lobby_pkg/ab1200pkg.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/

Putting it all into context. (What the safetycrats DON'T want you to know)

In 2003, there were 975,681 M1 license endorsements and 569,226 motorcycles registered in California. (the numbers you'll see further down the page don't include publicly owned vehicles, and STILL differ from the CHP stats) When we changed the wording on the Motorcycle Awareness Month Proclamations from 500,000 to 1,000,000 enthusiasts last year, we weren't exaggerating!

2003 CHP SWITRS data; http://www.chp.ca.gov/switrs/

Note: Table 7J deals with Fatal and Injury Motorcycle Collisions by County 1999-2003; http://www.chp.ca.gov/switrs/xls/2003-sec7.xls

In 2003, 367 pedestrian violation fatals. 369 motorcycle fatals.

In 2002, 342 pedestrian violation fatals, 318 motorcycle fatals.

In 2001, 273 pedestrian violation fatals, 295 motorcycle fatals.

In 2000, 255 pedestrian violation fatals, 275 motorcycle fatals.

The record HIGH for motorcycle registrations in California was 737,774 in 1980.

The record high for motorcycle registrations for the entire nation was 5,831,132 in 1981. (5,328,300 in 2003) Funny how the MIC touts that this is the 13th straight year of record sales increases, when in actuality, we had far more motorcycles before the onslaught of helmet laws, and we still haven't made it back to those numbers.

In 1991, PRE-Helmet Law, there were 639,388 motorcycle registrations in California.

By 1997, there were only 391,080 motorcycle registrations in California.

Within 6 years, California lost 248,308 motorcycle registrations. To put that into perspective, California LOST more registrations than 44 other states had on record in 2003, the latest year I can find complete stats for. That number would have placed 7th in the nation for registrations in 2003.

U.S. Motorcycle Registration Numbers for 2003

Compiled by Splatt for www.bikernation.us

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Office of Highway Policy Information (U.S.D.O.T.F.H.A.O.H.P.I)

Webpage: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohim/hs03/htm/mv1.htm

The following statistics EXCLUDE publicly owned vehicles and represent only private and commercial registrations.

California 546,684 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Florida 386,381 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Ohio 285,376 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Pennsylvania 267,826 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Illinois 260,988 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Texas 258,253 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003 (Insert California's 248,308 LOST registrations here)
Wisconsin 239,822 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Michigan 214,278 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Arizona 208,403 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Minnesota 174,396 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
New York 149,951 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Indiana 143,774 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Washington 140,950 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
New Jersey 139,894 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Iowa 139,705 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Massachusetts 130,354 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Georgia 117,502 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
North Carolina 95,275 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Tennessee 93,600 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Oregon 74,519 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Missouri 73,787 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Virginia 73,309 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Oklahoma 72,323 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Alabama 70,372 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Montana 65,907 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Maryland 63,898 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Connecticut 62,716 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
New Hampshire 59,692 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
South Carolina 56,930 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Louisiana 56,738 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Kansas 56,034 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Kentucky 50,925 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Idaho 43,804 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Arkansas 38,466 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Utah 37,959 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
South Dakota 37,528 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Nevada 36,733 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Maine 34,821 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
New Mexico 32,276 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Wyoming 27,744 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Mississippi 26,998 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Nebraska 26,937 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Vermont 26,332 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Rhode Island 24,525 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Hawaii 22,061 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Puerto Rico 21,833 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003*
Alaska 19,612 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
North Dakota 19,129 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
West Virginia 18,725 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Delaware 14,971 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
Colorado 7,929 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003
District of Columbia 1,188 Motorcycle Registrations in 2003**

TOTAL Motorcycle Registrations in 2003; 5,328,300.

*Puerto Rico is a self-governing unincorporated organized territory of the United States. Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the United States since a law was passed in 1917. Even though they are citizens, Puerto Ricans pay no federal income tax and they can not vote for president. Unrestricted U.S. migration of Puerto Ricans has made New York City the one place with the most Puerto Ricans anywhere in the world (over one million). There are almost four million Puerto Ricans, which would make the island the 23rd most populous state (between Alabama and Kentucky). Puerto Rico is an independent country in the sports world, even having their own Olympic teams.

**Citizens of Washington D.C. are represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting delegate who sits on committees and participates in debate but cannot vote. D.C. does not have representation in the Senate.

ABATE of Florida Proves the Point

When Florida relaxed it's lid law in 2000, motorcycle registrations increased 33.7 percent in the 30 months after repeal of the law compared to the 30 months before the law change. It pumped over a BILLION dollars into the state's economy. 114,457 motorcycles at a low average of $10,000 each = $1,144,570,000. Sales tax on motorcycles at 6% = $68,674,200. Registration fees on motorcycles = $4,578,280. Change of Title = $3,406,094. TOTAL = $1,221,228,574. This is a low estimate as it doesn't include accessories and other items bought.