Despite accounting for just 2 per cent of the vehicles, motorcycles are involved in 10 per cent of traffic fatalities in Ontario, according to a study published recently in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The findings, though shocking, will not be of great surprise to Ontario motorcycle accident lawyers, who assist seriously injured motorcyclists on a regular basis.
The study was conducted by researchers at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). It looked at motor vehicle accident victims in Ontario’s hospitals from 2007 to 2013. During that time, 281,826 people were injured in car crashes, and 26,831 were injured in motorcycle accidents. In 2013, 50 of Ontario’s 500 motor vehicle deaths involved motorcycles.
“The main results of our study were that each motorcycle in Ontario causes 10 times the severe injuries, five times the deaths, and six times the medical costs of each automobile,” said study author Daniel Pincus in a Sunnybrook release. “Since the average motorcycle travels one fifth the amount of the average car, multiply these numbers by five to estimate injuries, deaths and costs per kilometer travelled.”
Since the year 2000, automobile crash deaths have plummeted by well over 50 per cent in developed countries around the world. In the past ten years, in particular, the rate of severe injuries and deaths caused by automotive crashes has improved significantly in Canada. However, as Ontario motorcycle accident lawyers know, the rate of death and serious injuries in motorcycle crashes has remained stable or even worsened.
“Despite publicly available data indicating the risk associated with driving a motorcycle is much greater than that associated with driving an automobile, this knowledge has not translated to improvements in motorcycle safety,” the study notes.
Pincus, a PhD candidate at ICES and orthopaedic resident physician at Sunnybrook Hospital, believes improved road safety measures are the solution, not a ban on motorcycles, mopeds, motor scooters, and motorized bicycles.
“A lot of people enjoy riding them,” he told the Toronto Sun. “The answer, I think, is trying to improve safety and try to improve preventable causes.”
He also noted that, despite his study’s grim findings, Ontario does more to protect motorcyclists than other jurisdictions.
“There’s mandated helmet legislation,” he said. “A lot of places in the states there isn’t.”
If you have been injured in a motorcycle crash, contact the Ontario motorcycle accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today to arrange a free consultation. For decades, our team has helped Ontarians who have been injured in automotive accidents access compensation and medical care to help their recovery.
Image credit: Mikey O./Wikimedia Commons
Greg Neinstein
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