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Motorcyclists in Danger on Texas Roads

Christopher O’Leary was driving his motorcycle when he was hit by a vehicle running a red light.  He had been sitting on his motorcycle at the intersection of Spur 364 and Loop 323 when the light changed to a protected green arrow to turn.  As he started to make his turn, he was struck by a vehicle.

O’Leary was immediately transported to East Texas Medical Center where he was treated for a massive head trauma.  He later died, despite the doctor’s best efforts, due to his injuries.

At the time of the accident, O’Leary was wearing his helmet, was not speeding, did not break any traffic laws and was not showing off the skills he had mastered while putting thousands of miles on his motorcycle.  O’Leary didn’t do anything wrong when the accident occurred, but he was still killed.

Several years ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration conducted a full report on fatal single vehicle motorcycle crashes.  The statistics were presented to the public to provide some insight into the possible causes of these types of motorcycle accidents.

According to the report, 38,000 motorcyclists died in single vehicle accidents between 1975 and 1999.  The age group with the most fatalities was the 20 to 29-year-old age group, with statistics showing that 30 percent to 46 percent of the fatalities that occurred between 1990 and 1999 were from this age group.  Motorcyclists who rode at night were at an increased risk, when compared to daytime riders.  Researchers found that as many as 70 percent of the 1,021 motorcyclists who died in 1990 were riding at night.

The report went on to list numerous reasons for motorcycle fatalities that included such factors as speeding and alcohol.  However, danger is sometimes out of the motorcyclist’s control, which is proven by O’Leary’s unfortunate death.

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