With over 20,000 and 1,000 fatalities over a four-year period, OSHP is encouraging drivers and motorcyclists to prioritize safety
TOLEDO, Ohio — It’s the time of year when more motorcyclists are out on the roads, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) is urging the public to be on the lookout for them due to the increase in number of crashes, both fatal and nonfatal over the last 5 years.
In 2024, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported that motorcycle crashes rose 4% with 20,000 crashes reported between 2020 and 2024.
Despite fatal crashes lowering by 7% during that time period, there were still over 1,000 deaths.
“It (the decrease) is really a step in the right direction. We really want our people on the road to be safe as possible. Both our motorcycle riders including the motoring public, and it comes down a lot of the time to that people don’t have the proper training to be on that motorcycle. A lot of times we see in fatal crashes that the rider does not have endorsement,” said Sergeant Ryan Purpura with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
According to the sergeant, these fatalities are due to inexperience, other drivers or alcohol.
- 10% of motorcycle-involved crashes had at least one driver impaired by alcohol or drugs, and 53% of motorcycle-involved fatal crashes had a motorcyclist impaired by alcohol or drugs.
- 53% of motorcyclists at fault in crashes did not have a motorcycle license endorsement, and 63% of motorcyclists killed were not wearing a helmet. 63% of those who were seriously injured were wearing helmets.
Over the last five years, Lucas County alone had over 800 crashes and according to the sergeant, safety is a two-way street.
“Here in Toledo, we have this urban area, suburbs, essentially a lot of roadways,” Purpura said. We have a lot of people out. Whether that’s vacations or graduations, whatever it is. That increased amount of traffic, especially out here on State Route 2, there’s a lot of intersections. We want to encourage the motoring public to look out for motorcyclists, but also for them to make themselves visible.”
Among the top five largest counties in the state, Lucas County was lowest for motorcycle crashes.
Leading was Cuyahoga with 1,771, followed by Franklin with 1,623, Hamilton with 1,201, Summit with 931, then Lucas with 868.
Combined, these five counties accounted for 32% of distracted driving crashes in Ohio.
The Ohio State Highway patrol refers new or even experienced riders to this link for safety tips and information.
