An accident involving a motorcycle and a pickup truck resulted in the death of the 35-year-old cyclist Tuesday night, October 6, 2015. 1 The collision occurred at 6:30 p.m. at Center Valley Parkway at West Saucon Valley Circle at the entrance to the Promenade Shops in Upper Saucon Township. According to witnesses, the truck driver was traveling east on Center Valley Parkway when he turned left (north) into the mall and hit the motorcycle. The rider of the bike was thrown from the bike and pronounced dead at the scene by the Lehigh County coroner. 2 The accident remains under investigation. 3
The cyclist, a pipe fitter and Navy veteran, is survived by his wife and three children.
How common are motorcycle accidents in the United States?
While the number of motorcycle fatalities and injuries is declining steadily in the United States, more than 4,500 motorcycle drivers are killed each year in traffic accidents and more than 85,000 are injured, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report. 4 That’s roughly 56 deaths for every 100,000 motorcycles on the road, which compares to nine deaths for every car on America’s highways. Simply put: driving a motorcycle is 26 times more hazardous than driving a car. Yet the number of motorcycles on the roads is increasing. There are currently 8.3 million private and commercial motorcycles registered in the United States, compared to 8.0 million in 2009. Motorcycles are no longer just a young person’s passion. Motorcycle fatalities in persons over 40 years old increased by 39 percent between 2009 and 2014.
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Sources:
1. http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-t-upper-saucon-motorcycle-crash-20151006-story.html
2. http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-d-upper-saucon-motorcycle-fatal-nurse-20151008-story.html
3. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/fatal_motorcycle_crash_near_pr.html
4. http://www.iii.org/issue-update/motorcycle-crashes