Motorcycle riding

Summary

• Motorcycle riding increases all-cause mortality risk mainly by increasing the chance of dying from road traffic injuries, especially head trauma.
• Per distance travelled, fatality risk is about 30–34 times higher for motorcyclists than for car occupants in multiple analyses.
• Helmets meaningfully reduce death risk (about 35–37%) and reduce serious head/brain injury risk (around 65–69%), but they do not remove the risk.
• Risk is higher for older riders (for example, over 55), for riders who speed or use alcohol, and for high-performance (“supersport”) motorcycles.

Factor description

This factor measures whether a person rides a motorcycle (as a rider or passenger).

• Measurement type: self-report (yes/no).
• Timeframe: current behavior (do you ride a motorcycle now).
• Units: not applicable (it is a behavior, not a lab value).

Impact on all-cause mortality

1. Direct injury mortality (the main pathway)

• Motorcycles provide little physical protection compared with cars. In a crash, the rider’s body absorbs more impact.
• Because road traffic injuries count as a cause of death, higher crash fatality rates translate into higher all-cause mortality risk.
• Studies consistently show much higher death risk per mile (or per distance) for motorcycles than for passenger cars (often around 30–34 times higher).

2. Head injury as a key driver of death

• Head trauma is a leading cause of death in motorcycle crashes.
• Helmet use reduces the chance of dying and reduces serious brain injury risk, so helmet policies and helmet wearing can reduce population-level deaths.

3. Risk is strongly modified by behavior and context

• Speeding, alcohol use, fatigue, distraction, and unlicensed riding are repeatedly linked to higher fatal crash risk.
• Riding environment matters (for example, high-speed roads, night riding, heavy traffic, and poor road conditions increase crash severity and risk).

4. Motorcycle type and performance

• High-performance “supersport” motorcycles have substantially higher fatal crash rates than standard/touring models in observational studies.
• The likely mechanism is a combination of higher speeds, acceleration capability, and rider selection (who chooses these bikes).

Patterns

• Age: Older riders (commonly reported as 55+) tend to have worse outcomes after crashes, including higher mortality and more severe injuries.
• Sex: Men account for the majority of motorcycle fatalities in many national datasets, reflecting higher riding exposure and higher-risk riding patterns.
• Safety behaviors: Not wearing a helmet, alcohol use, and speeding are common contributors in fatal crash reports.
• Vehicle choice: Supersport/high-performance motorcycles are linked to higher fatal crash rates than standard/touring categories.
• Policy environment: Places with stronger helmet laws and enforcement generally show higher helmet use and fewer head-injury deaths.

KamaLama scoring

Motorcycle riding is scored as an event-based (binary) risk factor. If you ride a motorcycle, KamaLama treats this as a sustained exposure to a high-injury-mortality hazard. If you do not ride, the model assigns no penalty from this factor. This scoring is threshold-based (yes/no), not dose-response, because the available field option in KamaLama is binary.

Practical tips

• The biggest risk reduction is not riding a motorcycle. If you can switch to a safer mode of transport, that usually reduces injury death risk the most.
• If you do ride, always wear a certified, well-fitting helmet and keep it properly fastened on every trip (even short rides).
• Add protective gear as a habit: abrasion-resistant jacket/pants, gloves, boots, and eye protection.
• Do not ride after alcohol or drugs, and avoid riding when very tired or in poor weather/visibility.
• Take a certified safety course and practice defensive riding (assume other drivers may not see you).
• Choose lower-risk bikes (standard/touring) over supersport/high-performance motorcycles, and keep tires/brakes/lights well maintained.

References

• Authoritative guidelines / evaluations

  • World Health Organization (2023). Helmets: a road safety manual (2nd edition). https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240069824
  • Global Road Safety Partnership / WHO manual PDF (2023). Helmets manual (2nd edition). https://www.grsproadsafety.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/WHO-Helmets-Green-Manual.pdf
  • U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (2024). Traffic Safety Facts: Motorcycles (2023 data). https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813732.pdf
  • NHTSA (2024). Motorcycle safety overview and key stats. https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/motorcycles
  • U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (updated archive). Motorcycle Injury Prevention (helmet effectiveness summary). https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/policy/hi5/motorcycleinjury/index.html

• Peer-reviewed / indexed research

  • Lin M, Kraus J (2009). Accident Analysis & Prevention. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.03.010
  • Hsieh C, Hsu S, Hsieh H, Chen Y (2017). Biomedical Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bj.2016.10.005
  • Redelmeier D, Shafir E (2018). CHANCE. https://doi.org/10.1080/09332480.2018.1549814
  • Paulozzi L (2005). Journal of Safety Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JSR.2005.07.002
  • Lee J et al. (2017). Traffic Injury Prevention. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2016.1204650
  • Rosander A et al. (2023). American Journal of Emergency Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2023.04.018
  • Granieri S et al. (2020). World Journal of Emergency Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13017-020-00297-1
  • Islam M (2021). Journal of Safety Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JSR.2021.02.010
  • Teoh E, Campbell M (2010). Journal of Safety Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2010.10.005