News
By Vihar Parikh
|
November 12, 2007
Motorcycle fatalities continue to increase, making this year one of the deadliest for the Commonwealth in terms of biker-related deaths, according to Deborah Cox, public relations coordinator of the Virginia State Police.
Using data from the Department of Motor Vehicles, the state police noted 116 motorcycle deaths this year, an 87 percent increase in the number of fatalities that had occurred by this time last year, according to Cox.
Cox, along with the state police, took an in-depth look at the fatalities during October, finding that motorcycle deaths over the last five years were most prevalent in that month.
"Some of the common causes in the October fatalities were speed, running off the road, losing control and failing to negotiate the turn," Cox said.
The state police did not perform studies to investigate why there has been such a sharp increase in deaths, but Cox noted a 51-percent increase in general motorcycle ridership since 2002.
Although statewide statistics are alarming, they are not indicative of ridership on Grounds, according to University Police Lt.