MISSOURI, USA — A young man tooling down a country road atop a motorcycle with the breeze running through his hair certainly is an all-American image. However, state transportation officials say the pastime isn’t the safest.
While roadway fatalities across Missouri decreased by 6% in 2023, the first year since 2019 when the number dipped, the number of motorcycle fatalities is on the rise, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
In 2023, according to preliminary data MoDOT has released, 989 people died on state roads, about 6% fewer deaths than in 2022, when 1,057 died.
While MoDOT officials concede the decrease represents progress, they note that at least three people are still dying each day in traffic accidents.
And, officials note, there’s a troubling trend when it comes to motorcycle fatalities.
Across the state in 2023, 175 people died in motorcycle accidents, a 16% uptick over 2022’s tally of 153.
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