Ok, here are some numbers, from a discussion on another site I stumbled across.  Some of the take-aways:

"Number of motorcycles involved in reported accidents (injuries, death or property damage) per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was 776.57 while the number of passenger cars involved in such accidents per 100 million miles traveled was only 423.13. In other words, you are almost twice as likely to be in an accident riding a motorcycle than riding in a passenger car."

"The fatality rate per 100,000 registered motorcycle was 64.88 while the number of fatalities per 100,000 registered passenger cars was only 15.72. In other words, motorcycle accidents are four times more likely to be deadly than are passenger car accidents."

"In fact, based on the NHTSA data I received, there were 632 injuries per each 100 million motorcycle miles ridden as compared to only 122 injuries per 100 million passenger car miles ridden. That's right, despite there being fewer injuries per registered motorcycle than per registered passenger car, there were nearly SIX TIMES MORE INJURIES per motorcycle mile ridden than per car mile ridden."

Don't forget guys, I do ride!  I just refuse to allow myself to be lulled into a false sense of security by the misperception that motorcycling isn't really any more dangerous than driving a car.  It is, there's no way around it.

And before anyone says "well those stats include helmet-less riders, new riders on huge bikes, non MSF'rs, drunks, etc", I'd just point out that the car statistics include the same people.  Of course reducing our risk by not doing stupid stuff is hugely helpful, but it still doesn't make it as safe as driving a car.  

jeff

Nice stats!  And I was stupid enough to ride about a half mile yesterday without my jacket.  But, I was REALLY HOT!  

Quote from: RVertigo

Nice stats!  And I was stupid enough to ride about a half mile yesterday without my jacket.  But, I was REALLY HOT!  

Happy to help.  Tell me about it, I have been dying for the last month.  Between 95+ degree temps, regular thunderstorms, and pedal bike training, my poor GS has been feeling neglected    The mother-in-law is visiting this weekend though, so I should have some time for joyriding  

jeff

Quote from: Jeff P"The fatality rate per 100,000 registered motorcycle was 64.88 while the number of fatalities per 100,000 registered passenger cars was only 15.72. In other words, motorcycle accidents are four times more likely to be deadly than are passenger car accidents."

that is an incorrect conclusion based on that statistic.  the stat says that per vehicle registered, motorcycles have about four times as many fatalities as cars.

unless we know how many accidents per vehicle registered, we can't determine the relative fatality of car vs. motorcycle accidents.  the stat says nothing about fatalities per accident (which would actually be an interesting thing to know).

i'm personally more interested in stats per vehicle mile travelled.

according to some NHTSA stats i've seen, there are fewer motorcycle injuries per registered vehicles.  this has led to the misleading assertion that you are less likely to be injured travelling on a motorcycle.

injuries (or fatalities) per vehicle mile travelled will give you a better idea of relative safety.

just like i've seen stats showing that more people die by slipping in the bathrub than in motorcycle accidents.  thus, you (the generic you) are more likely to die in the bathtub than a motorcycle accident.  that's true, as far as it goes.  however, it doesn't mean that bathing is more dangerous than riding a motorcycle.

statistics without context are worse than useless.

I knew there was a reason I stopped that bathing crap.

Of course motorcycle wrecks are more dangerous, it is simple physics.

But motorcycling is different from driving in many important ways.

First there is much greater variation between different groups within the motorcycle community. New riders and unlicencsed riders have remarkably higher accident rates than experienced riders.

Also, motorcycle riders are  more likely to be drunk.

Nearly half of motorcycle accidents are caused by a rider running off the road.

Rider training and helmets go a long way to reducing those numbers.