Published by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

Traffic Safety Facts

Crash • Stats

DOT HS 810 892 A Brief Statistical Summary January 2008

Fatally Injured Motorcycle Operators by 

L icense Status

On an average, in the past five years (2002 to 2006), 

one-fourth (25%) of motorcycle operators fatally 

injured in fatal crashes were operating their motorcycles with invalid licenses (either did not have the 

license or did not have an endorsement) compared to 

about 15 percent for fatally injured passenger vehicle 

drivers. This data is from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

The proportion of fatally injured motorcycle operators 

with invalid licenses involved in fatal crashes as a trend 

in each of the past five years has remained about the 

same, varying between 24 percent and 26 percent. Table 

1 below shows five-year trend data of fatally injured 

motorcycle operators by license status. The increasing 

trend in the total motorcycle operators killed is consistent with the increasing trend of total motorcycle 

rider fatalities. For recent trends in fatal motorcycle 

crashes, refer to an earlier report released in June 2006 

at: www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810606.PDF

Table 2 shows a State breakdown of fatally injured 

motorcycle operators in fatal crashes by license status 

for the past five years. In 2006, 21 States had a higher 

proportion of fatally injured motorcycle operators in 

crashes with invalid licenses, than the national average 

of 26 percent.

Definitions

Valid (Properly Licensed) – a valid driver license (NonCDL License Status) with a motorcycle endorsement, a 

motorcycle-only license, learner’s permit; and a temporary license; or no license required for operating 

a motorcycle-type vehicle like a moped.

Invalid (Improperly Licensed) – not licensed, not 

licensed to operate a motorcycle, or a license that is suspended, revoked, expired, canceled, or denied.

FARS annually collects data on fatal crashes from the 

50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. 

FARS data is made available by the NHTSA’s National 

 Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA).

Table 1: Fatally Injured Motorcycle Operators by License Status and Year

Year

License Status

Valid Invalid Unknown Total

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

2002 2,233 74 779 26 22 1 3,034 100

2003 2,562 75 847 25 18 1 3,427 100

2004 2,769 75 920 25 24 1 3,713 100

2005 3,189 75 1,041 24 24 1 4,254 100

2006 3,253 72 1,172 26 68 2 4,493 100

Source: NCSA, FARS 2002-2005 (Final), 2006 Annual Report File (ARF).
Published by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

Table 2: Fatally Injured Motorcycle Operators by License Status, State, and Year

State

Year

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Valid Invalid Total Valid Invalid Total Valid Invalid Total Valid Invalid Total Valid Invalid Total

# (%) # (%) # # (%) # (%) # # (%) # (%) # # (%) # (%) # # (%) # (%) #

AL 29(71) 11(27) 41 32(74) 11(26) 43 50(68) 22(30) 73 54(90) 6(10) 60 64(65) 34(35) 98

AK 6(50) 6(50) 12 8(67) 3(25) 12 5(63) 3(38) 8 1(25) 3(75) 4 5(56) 4(44) 9

AZ 57(64) 31(35) 89 68(67) 34(33) 102 78(73) 27(25) 107 92(76) 29(24) 121 89(70) 34(27) 127

AR 32(97) 0(0) 33 43(90) 5(10) 48 42(89) 4(9) 47 45(78) 10(17) 58 57(85) 10(15) 67

CA 202(66) 100(33) 307 239(67) 116(32) 357 251(62) 152(38) 405 310(68) 142(31) 454 303(64) 165(35) 476

CO 43(65) 22(33) 66 42(64) 22(33) 66 44(59) 29(39) 75 50(63) 29(36) 80 38(57) 29(43) 67

CT 31(66) 16(34) 47 18(62) 11(38) 29 33(63) 18(35) 52 26(65) 14(35) 40 29(58) 20(40) 50

DE 4(67) 2(33) 6 10(91) 1(9) 11 5(71) 2(29) 7 19(90) 2(10) 21 10(91) 1(9) 11

DC 5(71) 2(29) 7 5(71) 2(29) 7 5(63) 3(38) 8 3(60) 2(40) 5 1(100) 0(0) 1

FL 238(82) 50(17) 289 297(88) 39(12) 339 358(89) 42(10) 404 364(84) 66(15) 432 413(77) 117(22) 534

GA 55(68) 26(32) 81 75(76) 24(24) 99 89(86) 14(14) 103 103(76) 32(24) 136 121(82) 24(16) 147

HI 11(48) 11(48) 23 10(53) 9(47) 19 12(60) 8(40) 20 13(45) 16(55) 29 11(42) 15(58) 26

ID 7(58) 5(42) 12 15(88) 2(12) 17 15(65) 8(35) 23 14(56) 11(44) 25 24(75) 8(25) 32

IL 73(79) 19(21) 92 97(73) 35(26) 133 117(80) 29(20) 146 108(75) 36(25) 144 81(67) 39(32) 121

IN 53(68) 25(32) 78 56(78) 16(22) 72 60(63) 35(37) 95 73(68) 35(32) 108 57(58) 41(41) 99

IA 31(89) 4(11) 35 40(91) 4(9) 44 26(84) 5(16) 31 34(85) 6(15) 40 42(82) 9(18) 51

KS 24(83) 5(17) 29 19(70) 8(30) 27 27(90) 3(10) 30 28(88) 4(13) 32 46(85) 8(15) 54

KY 29(71) 12(29) 41 38(73) 14(27) 52 52(83) 11(17) 63 46(60) 30(39) 77 62(68) 29(32) 91

LA 49(75) 16(25) 65 62(81) 13(17) 77 54(77) 15(21) 70 55(80) 13(19) 69 80(89) 10(11) 90

ME 11(92) 1(8) 12 15(83) 3(17) 18 17(85) 3(15) 20 11(73) 4(27) 15 14(67) 5(24) 21

MD 41(82) 9(18) 50 49(92) 4(8) 53 53(83) 10(16) 64 56(71) 23(29) 79 58(74) 18(23) 78

MA 43(80) 11(20) 54 24(77) 6(19) 31 49(83) 10(17) 59 42(79) 11(21) 53 41(84) 8(16) 49

MI 51(65) 26(33) 79 52(67) 26(33) 78 55(71) 20(26) 77 90(77) 27(23) 117 77(71) 32(29) 109

MN 33(80) 8(20) 41 40(73) 15(27) 55 38(81) 9(19) 47 45(82) 10(18) 55 56(88) 8(13) 64

MS 22(92) 2(8) 24 38(93) 3(7) 41 36(95) 2(5) 38 35(97) 1(3) 36 53(100) 0(0) 53

MO 47(81) 11(19) 58 59(76) 17(22) 78 41(80) 9(18) 51 67(78) 19(22) 86 59(68) 28(32) 87

MT 15(71) 6(29) 21 6(50) 6(50) 12 9(56) 7(44) 16 22(88) 3(12) 25 16(73) 6(27) 22

NE 15(100) 0(0) 15 11(100) 0(0) 11 15(94) 1(6) 16 13(93) 1(7) 14 13(76) 4(24) 17

NV 23(72) 7(22) 32 14(58) 10(42) 24 29(59) 19(39) 49 37(69) 15(28) 54 31(66) 15(32) 47

NH 9(75) 3(25) 12 9(100) 0(0) 9 24(92) 2(8) 26 37(90) 4(10) 41 16(89) 2(11) 18

NJ 36(75) 11(23) 48 41(77) 12(23) 53 51(72) 20(28) 71 41(69) 18(31) 59 69(82) 13(15) 84

NM 22(81) 5(19) 27 27(87) 4(13) 31 27(82) 6(18) 33 31(91) 3(9) 34 38(90) 4(10) 42

NY 103(77) 29(22) 134 105(69) 46(30) 152 88(65) 46(34) 136 109(72) 42(28) 152 125(69) 52(29) 180

NC 85(71) 35(29) 120 75(76) 24(24) 99 95(73) 35(27) 130 117(83) 23(16) 141 111(78) 32(22) 143

ND 1(100) 0(0) 1 2(50) 2(50) 4 6(86) 1(14) 7 6(100) 0(0) 6 3(75) 1(25) 4

OH 100(84) 19(16) 119 105(84) 19(15) 125 106(87) 15(12) 122 131(82) 26(16) 160 127(85) 20(13) 149

OK 23(66) 11(31) 35 20(56) 16(44) 36 41(63) 24(37) 65 48(66) 25(34) 73 35(64) 20(36) 55

OR 20(80) 5(20) 25 24(60) 16(40) 40 25(76) 8(24) 33 30(71) 12(29) 42 35(83) 6(14) 42

PA 76(61) 48(39) 124 98(67) 48(33) 147 106(74) 37(26) 143 148(76) 45(23) 195 115(64) 55(31) 180

RI 7(78) 2(22) 9 8(62) 5(38) 13 8(80) 2(20) 10 7(64) 4(36) 11 12(80) 3(20) 15

SC 72(87) 10(12) 83 67(82) 15(18) 82 71(86) 12(14) 83 77(78) 22(22) 99 86(85) 15(15) 101

SD 13(76) 4(24) 17 15(83) 3(17) 18 22(92) 2(8) 24 16(94) 1(6) 17 17(77) 5(23) 22

TN 45(63) 27(38) 72 61(75) 20(25) 81 56(62) 34(38) 90 85(73) 31(27) 116 77(60) 36(28) 129

TX 142(61) 89(38) 232 203(65) 106(34) 310 162(62) 101(38) 263 215(64) 121(36) 337 210(64) 115(35) 326

UT 14(78) 4(22) 18 18(86) 3(14) 21 21(72) 7(24) 29 16(73) 6(27) 22 14(74) 4(21) 19

VT 5(100) 0(0) 5 2(67) 1(33) 3 6(67) 3(33) 9 8(62) 5(38) 13 10(100) 0(0) 10

VA 48(91) 5(9) 53 46(92) 4(8) 50 49(94) 3(6) 52 51(80) 12(19) 64 53(82) 9(14) 65

WA 37(73) 13(25) 51 39(74) 14(26) 53 45(65) 23(33) 69 46(67) 23(33) 69 51(65) 28(35) 79

WV 23(85) 4(15) 27 23(79) 6(21) 29 18(75) 6(25) 24 30(91) 3(9) 33 22(61) 11(31) 36

WI 64(86) 10(14) 74 75(77) 22(23) 97 65(83) 13(17) 78 69(83) 14(17) 83 62(77) 19(23) 81

WY 8(89) 1(11) 9 17(89) 2(11) 19 12(100) 0(0) 12 15(83) 2(11) 18 14(93) 1(7) 15

US 2,233(74) 779(26) 3,034 2,562(75) 847(25) 3,427 2,769(75) 920(25) 3,713 3,189(75) 1,041(24) 4,254 3,253(72) 1,172(26) 4,493

PR 50(85) 9(15) 59 46(85) 8(15) 54 45(78) 13(22) 58 74(85) 10(11) 87 92(83) 17(15) 111

Source: NCSA, FARS 2002-2005 (Final), 2006 (ARF). Total for each year includes fatally injured motorcycle operators with unknown license status.

For questions regarding the above reported data, contact 

Anders Longthorne, 202-366-5358, or Cherian Varghese, 

202-366-1114. This issue of Crash•Stats and other general 

information on highway traffic safety may be accessed 

by Internet users at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/

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