Motorcycle fatalities in single vehicle crashes had decreased each year from 1990 to 1997.  Then in 1998, the fatalities increased 11.2 percent and have been increasing ever since.  See "Fatal Single Vehicle Motorcycle Crashes" (DOT HS 809 360)  from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA);

That report found that single vehicle motorcycle crashes account for about 45 percent of all motorcyclist fatalities.  More than 38,000 motorcyclists have died in single vehicle motorcycle crashes between 1975 and 1999.  In 2002, motorcycle fatalities increased for the fifth year in a row;  3244 riders died that year, up from 3197 in 2001.  Deaths among riders 50 and over increased 26 percent.

More recently, USA Today reported "Pentagon brass got an eye-opener when they examined 2008 casualty figures: More Marines died stateside on motorcycles than were killed in Iraq or Afghanistan"  (Click to read article)

The findings from the National Transportation and Highway Administration FARS Fatality Analysis Reporting System (Click Here for more information) list possible causes for motorcyclist fatalities in single vehicle motorcycle crashes: