In 2023, Pennsylvania hit a grim milestone: 238 motorcyclists were killed in crashes across the state—the highest number in two decades. Even though the number dropped slightly to 219 in 2024, the long-term trend is clear: motorcycle deaths are rising while overall traffic fatalities are going down.
This isn't just a blip. It's part of a deeper public safety problem we've seen play out in courtrooms, crash scenes, and countless injury cases. The data may be new, but we’ve seen this pattern up close for years.
The Numbers Are Moving in the Wrong Direction
According to PennLive, 2023 marked a 20-year high in motorcyclist deaths. In 2024, PennDOT reported 3,317 crashes involving motorcycles and 219 fatalities. That’s a small improvement, but not enough to offset the bigger picture: riders are still at a much higher risk of dying in a crash than other drivers.
This matters even more when you realize that Pennsylvania's total traffic fatalities in 2024 were the second-lowest on record. Safety is improving for most vehicles. But for motorcyclists, things are only getting more dangerous.
What Our Firm Has Been Fighting for 100 Years
We’ve written before about the challenges motorcyclists face on Pennsylvania roads:
- In The Battle Between Safety and Style: Open-Face vs. Full-Face Helmets, we broke down how helmet choice can mean the difference between life and death.
- In Optimism Bias: Why Drivers Judge Motorcycle Distance Wrong, we explained why drivers routinely misjudge how fast bikes are moving.
- And in Dealing With Insurance Adjusters After a Motorcycle Crash, we exposed how insurers often downplay motorcycle injuries or try to shift blame onto the rider.
Put simply, motorcyclists are treated differently—by other drivers, by insurance companies, and sometimes even by the legal system. That’s part of what makes these rising fatality rates so concerning.
A Dangerous Link to Work Zones
These trends aren’t isolated to motorcycles. In Highway Work Zones Are Getting Deadlier, we covered the rising death toll in Pennsylvania's construction zones.
It’s no coincidence that some of the same risky driving behaviors show up in both types of crashes:
- Speeding through high-risk areas
- Distracted driving
- Failing to adjust for visibility or road conditions
Whether you're behind the wheel near a work zone or approaching a motorcycle in traffic, a split-second mistake can end someone’s life.
Motorcycle Fatalities Fit Into a Bigger Safety Problem
We also highlighted the broader crisis in Traffic Fatalities in Pennsylvania Went Up. Nationwide, They Went Down..
That blog pointed out that speeding is more frequent, aggressive driving been increasing, and impaired driving hasn’t gotten significantly better. When we zoom out, it's clear that rising motorcycle deaths aren't just about the bikes. They're about drivers treating safety as optional—especially when it comes to vulnerable road users.
What Needs to Change?
The answer isn't just more awareness campaigns.
The Commonwealth needs:
- Stronger enforcement of distracted and aggressive driving laws
- Infrastructure that makes space for motorcycles, not just cars and trucks
- Personal responsibility from everyone on the road
And when something goes wrong, riders deserve someone who understands what they're up against. We fight every day for motorcycle crash victims who weren’t given a fair shot—in traffic or in their claim.
Riders Deserve Better
If you ride, you already know the risks. What these numbers show is that you're not imagining it: the road has gotten deadlier for motorcyclists.
It doesn’t have to stay that way. These crashes are preventable. These deaths are preventable. But it takes more than good intentions; it takes accountability, smarter safety choices, and—when it comes down to it—legal teams that won’t let insurance companies blame motorcyclists for accidents caused by someone else’s negligence.