As you may have already guessed, traffic fatalities are up in Colorado, and it’s true for both car drivers and motorcycle riders. However, what you may not have guessed is that this trend has also taken hold over the rest of the nation as well.

Why Are Motorcycle Traffic Fatalities Up All Over the Nation?

2015 wasn’t a very good year for auto accident victims. Overall our nation saw a 7.2 percent increase in traffic fatalities, and national motorcycle fatality numbers went up by 8.3 percent. Here in Colorado, motorcyclist deaths rose from 94 to 104. These new numbers are pretty disappointing considering that motorcycle fatality numbers in Colorado haven’t risen since 2008. For over a decade, the overall number of traffic fatalities all over the U.S. has been going down too. So why have fatality trends suddenly taken a turn for the worst?

Analysts claim that lower gas prices and warmer weather have combined to create the perfect season for increased road collisions. More Americans seem to be taking advantage of the hot weather and lower gas prices so they can hit the road, but the latest numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may not agree with these theories.

NHTSA says that the number of crashes per mile driven have increased rather than simply increasing along with number of miles driven. That suggests that more people would have crashed last year even if more drivers hadn’t crowded the roads. So what caused the spike in crash numbers?

For now, NHTSA is inviting research groups to study the vital statistics it’s released. The government safety organization hopes that an analysis of the data will give us a better idea of what caused the surge in traffic fatalities. Collision statistics from 2016 are already higher than this time last year, so many are hoping that these groups find an answer soon. Until then ride safe out there Colorado, and keep checking in on our blog for further updates.

A message brought to you by the motorcycle accident attorneys at the Metier Law Firm.