Nighttime motorcycle accidents are a pressing issue in California, particularly in densely populated urban areas like Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. Motorcycle riding offers convenience, affordability, and a sense of adventure, but that appeal often comes with a steep cost. Riding after dark increases the already significant risks riders face, since they are exposed to the elements with minimal physical protection. Reduced visibility at night can hide potholes and other road hazards, making accidents more likely. Drivers, meanwhile, are often unaccustomed to sharing the road with motorcycles after dark, creating a dangerous situation for everyone involved.
California's favorable climate year-round means the state sees continuous motorcycle activity, and that brings a distinct pattern in crash data. December and January see notably fewer fatalities, with approximately 20 recorded each month. The rest of the year tells a different story: fatalities nearly double, and October alone recorded approximately 48 motorcycle deaths. Nationally, a motorcyclist is 26 times more likely to die in an accident per mile traveled than an occupant of a passenger vehicle.
The period after 6 p.m. poses the greatest risk to motorcyclists, accounting for around 60 percent of fatalities. Even among motorcyclists wearing helmets, 93 percent of those involved in fatal accidents suffered casualties. Motorcycle registrations across the state have grown by 5 percent, while deaths have climbed by 23 percent in that same span. The numbers are even more alarming in the Los Angeles region, where fatalities rose 59 percent between 2010 and 2012, according to the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. Experts point to high fuel costs as a driving factor, prompting both new and experienced riders to turn to motorcycles. That shift has also brought an influx of tourists renting motorcycles in Southern California to explore scenic routes — riders whose unfamiliarity with the roads increases their risk of a serious accident.
Given this surge in accidents, Amerberg Law Group works to secure compensation for victims who have suffered severe head, neck, and brain injuries.
According to the Insurance Information Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorcyclists are roughly three times as likely to be injured between midnight and 3 a.m. on weekends as during that same window on weekdays. Between 9 p.m. and midnight, weekend injury crashes more than double compared to weekdays. The increase during weekday hours between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. is less pronounced, since many riders are still active during that window. Early evening accidents account for nearly 20 percent of all injury crashes, with fatalities peaking between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., followed closely by the 9 p.m. to midnight period. On weekends, the most dangerous time to ride is between midnight and 3 a.m. Fatal crashes between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. are rare, accounting for fewer than 5 percent of all fatalities.
Motorcyclists who ride at night knowingly take on significant additional risk. Limited visibility is a major contributing factor in nearly all injury and fatal crashes that occur after dark. Secondary roads, such as the Pacific Coast Highway, where hills, curves, and other terrain can obscure visibility, see a disproportionate share of motorcycle accidents. These roads draw thrill-seeking riders, but they carry real dangers. Nighttime accidents are also more likely to involve alcohol, which is one of several reasons so many severe collisions happen during these hours.
Passengers and riders can suffer debilitating injuries in a single-vehicle or multi-vehicle crash. Even with a helmet, riders frequently experience disfiguring lacerations, contusions, road burn, broken bones, spinal trauma, and head injuries. Riders have a right to be on the road at any hour, but every motorist has a responsibility to obey traffic rules, watch for oncoming vehicles, and follow the speed limit at all times. There's no excuse for traffic safety violations that endanger lives. Motorists who cause such collisions may be subject to the state's vehicular manslaughter laws. Victims also have the right to recover compensation for medical expenses, rehabilitation, and lost wages in a civil trial.
