"The Hurt Report"
(AKA "Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures")
A brief summary of the findings is listed below. To order the full report, contact:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal
Road
Springfield, Virginia 22161
(703)-487-4600
and order:
Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, Volume 1: Technical Report, Hurt, H.H., Ouellet, J.V. and Thom, D.R., Traffic Safety Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90007, Contract No. DOT HS-5-01160, January 1981 (Final Report)
Vol.I (The Main Report and Summary) is PB81206443 (~400 pages)
Vol.II
(Appendix: Supplementary Data) is PB81206450 (~400 pages)
Either document
is $42.95 plus $3.00 shipping. (circa 1990)
Summary of Findings
Throughout the accident and exposure data there are
special observations which relate to accident and injury causation and
characteristics of the motorcycle accidents studied. These findings are
summarized as follows:
1. Approximately three-fourths
of these motorcycle accidents involved collision with another vehicle, which was
most often a passenger automobile.
2. Approximately
one-fourth of these motorcycle accidents were single vehicle accidents involving
the motorcycle colliding with the roadway or some fixed object in the
environment.
3. Vehicle failure accounted for less than
3% of these motorcycle accidents, and most of those were single vehicle
accidents where control was lost due to a puncture flat.
4. In single vehicle accidents, motorcycle rider error
was present as the accident precipitating factor in about two-thirds of the
cases, with the typical error being a slideout and fall due to overbraking or
running wide on a curve due to excess speed or under-cornering.
5. Roadway defects (pavement ridges, potholes, etc.)
were the accident cause in 2% of the accidents; animal involvement was 1% of the
accidents.
6. In multiple vehicle accidents, the driver
of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle right-of-way and caused the
accident in two-thirds of those accidents.
7. The
failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the
predominating cause of motorcycle accidents. The driver of the other vehicle
involved in collision with the motorcycle did not see the motorcycle before the
collision, or did not see the motorcycle until too late to avoid the collision.
8. Deliberate hostile action by a motorist against a
motorcycle rider is a rare accident cause. The most frequent accident
configuration is the motorcycle proceeding straight then the automobile makes a
left turn in front of the oncoming motorcycle.
10.
Intersections are the most likely place for the motorcycle accident, with the
other vehicle violating the motorcycle right-of-way, and often violating traffic
controls.
11. Weather is not a factor in 98% of
motorcycle accidents.
12. Most motorcycle accidents
involve a short trip associated with shopping, errands, friends, entertainment
or recreation, and the accident is likely to happen in a very short time close
to the trip origin.
13. The view of the motorcycle or
the other vehicle involved in the accident is limited by glare or obstructed by
other vehicles in almost half of the multiple vehicle accidents.
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