Allstate Does Its Part To Help End Motorcycle Crashes + Infographic

One of the leading causes of motorcyclist fatalities occurs when a motorcycle crashes with another vehicle at an intersection. This is a preventable occurrence, and for the last year Allstate Insurance has been doing its part to help eliminate these crashes through its advocacy campaign, the Once is Never Enough (O.N.E.) program. 

Over the last three years, Allstate has worked to install 167 “Watch for Motorcycles” signs in 37 different cities across 19 states. In 2014, the program expanded into three new cities and three new states with an additional 12 new signs. 

Before 2009, 46% of all multi-vehicle crash fatalities happened at intersections. In addition, three motorcyclists are killed everyday in multi-vehicle crashes at intersections in the U.S. See the accompanying infographic to grasp the results that have come from the “Watch for Motorcycles” signs, which were deployed at dangerous intersections. By 2012, the FHWA notified Allstate that the warning signs were allowed in accordance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

Established in 2009, Allstate’s Once is Never Enough (O.N.E.) program is an awareness campaign created to help reduce the number of motorcycle crashes involving other vehicles at intersections while attempting to standardize motorcycle warning signs across the United States. Allstate’s primary message of the campaign is simple: look twice for motorcycles, because once is never enough.

The program is informed by research and studies suggesting that motorcycle crashes involving other vehicles at intersections are among the most preventable, including:

• The Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures¹ – otherwise known as the Hurt Report and considered by many to be the benchmark for motorcycle crash research – concludes that a majority of motorcycle crashes involve a collision with another vehicle, intersections are the most likely place for a motorcycle crash and the failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle crashes.

• Data from the National Highway Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System² continues to support the Hurt Report’s findings, as it shows 46 percent of all multi-vehicle motorcycle crash fatalities (8,107 out of 17,470 fatalities from 2006-2012) occurred at intersections.  This data shows that, on average, three motorcyclists are killed every day from multi-vehicle crashes at intersections in the U.S. (8,107 / 7 years = 1,158.1; 1,158.1 / 365 days = 3.17 riders).

Throughout the program, Allstate and its engineering partners work closely with local traffic authorities to review available crash data and to identify intersections with a high number of multi-vehicle crashes involving motorcycles. Allstate then donates warning signs to be installed at the site with the intent of elevating awareness of motorcycle incidents that would not be readily apparent to a driver.

The warning signs used in the campaign are yellow diamond warning signs that read “Watch For Motorcycles.” Allstate worked in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration to design the current sign to ensure compliance with section 2A.06 paragraph 13 of the M.U.T.C.D.