If you are one of the many residents in New Jersey who loves the freedom and feeling that comes with riding a motorcycle, you are no doubt eagerly awaiting the return of spring when the weather makes riding a bike more enjoyable. However, you should also be aware that you face a lot of risks sharing the road with other vehicles. Drivers of passenger vehicles do not always look for motorcyclists and that may contribute to some accidents. Unfortunately, the number of bikers killed in accidents in New Jersey increased for two consecutive years.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, biker deaths numbered 56 in 2013 and jumped to 62 in 2014. In the following year, that number declined to 50 but the subsequent two years saw significant increases first to 71 in 2016 and then to 83 in 2017.

In Passaic County between 2013 and 2017, a total of 24 motorcyclists lost their lives in vehicular accidents. There were only two other counties that experienced more biker fatalities in that timeframe. In Burlington and Camden Counties, 28 and 26 motorcyclists were killed in crashes in those five years. Among Passaic County’s neighboring counties, the picture for riders still looks bleak as 21 deaths occurred in Essex County, 16 in Bergen County, 14 in Morris County and nine in Sussex County.

If you would like to learn more about the risks faced by motorcyclists and how to get help after being involved in a motorcycle accident, please feel free to visit the biker’s rights and compensation page of our New Jersey motorcycle accident and personal injury website.