Motorcycle riding has its risks, and here is the largest risk, with numbers: during 2024, 165 riders were killed in Colorado, which was about 25% of all vehicle-involved fatalities. What percent of all vehicles in the state are motorcycles? 3%, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
A short report in The Denver Post a week ago caught our eye, saying, further, that in about 50% of the motorcycle fatalities the rider or riders weren’t wearing a helmet.
The good news, yes, is that in the first three months of the 2025 both vehicle fatalities and motorcycle fatalities are down 20% compared with the same period a year ago. Helmet usage percentage? We don’t know. Nor to what degree motorcycle fatalities in both 2024 or so far in 2025 were rider error and didn’t involve an automobile.
In any case, full motorcycle riding weather is with us now, which means that automobile drivers must be even more alert to their increased presence. Look twice? Look three times.
Drivers can’t do anything about a motorcyclist not wearing a helmet. Colorado is a helmet-optional state and that’s up to the rider. The effort to reducing motorcycle fatalities could be considered a partnership: drivers, be extra aware, bike riders use a helmet.
