It’s not often that a government report remains valuable more than three decades after it is published, but that is the case for the famous Hurt Report. The Hurt Report, initiated by the Department of Transportation and published in 1981, remains an important tool in examining the cause of motorcycle accidents, injuries, and fatalities.
Key Findings of the Hurt Report
A summary of the several hundred page Hurt report can still be found on the University of Wisconsin website. Some of the report highlights that are important for motorcyclists and other motorists to know about include:
- The failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle accidents. In these types of crashes, the driver of the other vehicle does not see the motorcycle before the collision or does not see the motorcycle until it was too late to avoid the collision.
- Approximately three-fourths of motorcycle accidents involved collisions with another vehicle. Most commonly, the other vehicle was a passenger automobile.
- In multiple vehicle accidents, the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle's right-of-way and caused the accident in two-thirds of those accidents.
- Intersections are the most common place for motorcycle accidents.
- Weather, animals, vehicle failure and roadway defects are not common causes of motorcycle accidents.
- A typical motorcycle accident leaves a rider with less than two seconds to avoid a collision.
Thus, while riders often pay the price for motorcycle accidents they are not typically the cause of their own injuries.
As riders ourselves, our attorneys have a vested interest in protecting both the rights and the lives of riders. Motorcycle awareness is one way we are working to prevent motorcycle accidents across Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. Please get your FREE Watch for Motorcycles sticker today and encourage others to look for riders on the road.