Case study
Michael T. Gibson, Auto Justice Attorney
Covered in Live 5 News, San Antonio Current, TCPalm, Charleston City Paper, THE SHOP Magazine, 99.1 WFMK, The Apopka Voice, Pensacola News Journal and Local Profile.
The vehicles most often involved in fatal crashes
Fatal and injury crashes by Florida county, 2018 to 2024
The most dangerous US roads for motorcyclists
A personal injury firm in Orlando needs coverage in the states it actually takes cases in. Motorcycle crash data is published state by state, so one national study hands every regional newsroom its own angle.
Where the data came from
| Source | What we took from it |
|---|---|
| National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Fatal motorcycle crashes, broken down by state and by the type of collision |
| US Department of Transportation | Motorcycle registrations, covering the 10.5 million motorcycles registered across the country |
How we built it
- Pull every fatal motorcycle crash on record and split it by state and by what the rider collided with.
- Measure those crashes against registrations, which stops a state with few riders looking safe on a small raw count.
- Express the result as fatal crashes per 100,000 registered motorcycles and rank all 50 states on it.
- Break the same figure down by collision type, which is what gives each state its own separate story.
What it found
Ranked by fatal crashes per 100,000 registered motorcycles. The national average is 57.59.
South Carolina
158.1
Texas
157
North Carolina
124.13
Missouri
119.8
Mississippi
116.39
National average
57.59
| # | State | Rate | What made it a story |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina | 158.1 | 174.5% above the national average, and the most front, right and rear collisions with vehicles of any state |
| 2 | Texas | 157 | Highest rate of collisions with fixed objects in the country, at 38.74 per 100,000 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 124.13 | Highest rate of left-side collisions at 8.98, over four times the national average of 2.19 |
| 4 | Missouri | 119.8 | Tenth for collisions with fixed objects, at 24.25 per 100,000 |
| 5 | Mississippi | 116.39 | Ninth for collisions with fixed objects |
The angles we pitched
- The states with the most dangerous roads for motorcyclists
- Motorcyclists are most at risk on South Carolina roads, new study finds
A third variation on the South Carolina line was tested alongside these two.
The send
1,381journalists pitched
874opened it
63.3%open rate
Study, angles and send figures are taken from the press release and the outreach record for this campaign.
Where it ran
