Motorcycle fatalities in NH reach 18-year-high

Oct. 20—New Hampshire has seen 39 motorcycle riders killed so far this year, the deadliest since 2005.

But experts don't know why many rainy weekends didn't keep that number down as in years past.

"Whenever we've had poor weather, fatalities go down," Larry Crowe, state coordinator of the motorcycle rider education program at the state Department of Safety, said in an interview Friday.

"That is not the case this year as many people have reported this has been an unusually wet year," he said. "We've had a lot of rain, a lot of weekends with rain when traditionally a lot of motorcyclists hit the road for recreational riding.

"It's a big question (for the increase in fatalities) that we're going to look at with more hard data coming in," Crowe said.

Since Jan. 1, 39 motorcycle riders — 35 operators, three passengers and one moped operator — have been killed. Men accounted for 31 victims with eight others women. All but eight were from New Hampshire, according to statistics from the state Office of Highway Safety released Friday.

Motorcycle rider deaths in the Granite State haven't been this high since 2005, when 43 riders — 39 operators, three passengers, and one moped operator — died during those 12 months.

During a 20-year span, New Hampshire has averaged 22 rider deaths a year.

With more than two months until year's end, this year's tally could climb.

"This is not the end of the season," Crowe said. "There is still plenty of great riding time."

Traci Beaurivage, president of the New Hampshire Motorcyclists' Rights Organization, urged motorcyclists to be careful.

"We, as riders, need to be responsible for our actions and make smart decisions when we ride. Please do your part," she urged in a statement.

Rockingham County has been the scene of 11 deadly crashes this year, followed by six in Hillsborough County. Merrimack and Grafton counties each had five deadly crashes. Belknap, Carroll and Strafford counties recorded three deadly crashes. Sullivan County had one deadly motorcycle crash. Cheshire and Coos had none.

Motorcyclists have new challenges this time of year, including shorter days of sunlight and more wet leaves on roadways, Crowe said.

"Motorcyclists need to pay attention to traffic patterns 100% of the time," he said. "Scanning ahead and predicting things evolving."

It's difficult, he said, for other drivers to judge how fast a motorcyclist is coming at them, he said.