The number of motorcycles and mopeds on Wisconsin roadways is on the rise…and so is the number of people being killed in accidents involving those vehicles.
The Division of Motor Vehicles is reporting a 20 percent increase in state motorcycle registrations and a 25 percent rise for mopeds over last year. The DMV's Linda Lewis says those numbers are most likely up because of rising gas costs, and the relatively cheap cost to fuel those vehicles.
However, as more riders take to the roads, fatal accidents involving motorcycles are going up as well. Don Hagen with the Department of Transportation says 92 people have been killed this year in fatal motorcycle crashes. That just one less than the total number of people killed in all of 2006. Hagen worries the number will continue to rise, with time still left in the riding season. The DOT is urging motorcycle riders to maintain safe riding practices, such as obeying traffic laws, riding sober, and wearing a helmet.
The DOT did not release any data regarding fatal moped accidents.
As of July, there were over 270,000 motorcycles and 41,000 mopeds registered in the state.