Motorcycle crashes in California
Across 2023, 2024 and 2025, 38,011 reported crashes in California involved at least one motorcycle — about 3.1 per cent of all reported crashes.
Why this number is built differently
The other mode pages on this site read a single field on the crash record. This one cannot, because that field records what a vehicle collided with — a pedestrian, a bicycle, another vehicle, a fixed object — and a motorcycle is a vehicle in the crash rather than a thing collided with. There is no motorcycle box to count.
So this figure is assembled from the party records instead: every crash with at least one party whose vehicle type is recorded as a motorcycle. It is a different route to the number, and worth knowing about if you are comparing these counts with someone else's.
It is also deliberately narrow. Motor-driven cycles and scooters of 15hp or less are a separate category in the data and are not folded in, and electric bicycles are separate again. The true figure for powered two-wheelers on California roads is higher than the number on this page.
| Year | Motorcycle-involved crashes | All reported crashes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 12,519 | 409,824 |
| 2024 | 12,977 | 417,147 |
| 2025 | 12,515 | 401,589 |
By county
| # | County | Motorcycle-involved crashes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | 9,084 |
| 2 | San Diego | 4,746 |
| 3 | Riverside | 2,775 |
| 4 | Orange | 2,771 |
| 5 | San Bernardino | 2,417 |
| 6 | Sacramento | 1,539 |
| 7 | Alameda | 1,460 |
| 8 | Santa Clara | 1,120 |
| 9 | San Francisco | 913 |
| 10 | Ventura | 811 |
| 11 | Contra Costa | 795 |
| 12 | Kern | 747 |
| 13 | San Joaquin | 680 |
| 14 | Fresno | 671 |
| 15 | Stanislaus | 552 |
| 16 | San Mateo | 529 |
| 17 | Placer | 431 |
| 18 | Solano | 415 |
| 19 | Sonoma | 382 |
| 20 | Tulare | 369 |
Every county is in the county table and in the CSV download.
Lane splitting, helmet requirements and how insurers treat riders are on the motorcycle accidents pages.
Sources: California Crash Reporting System (CCRS), California Highway Patrol — Crashes and Parties files. Definitions and limitations: methodology.
Common questions
- Why is this counted differently from pedestrians and bicycles?
- Because the crash record does not have a motorcycle box. A CHP report records what the vehicle collided with — pedestrian, bicycle, other vehicle, fixed object — and a motorcycle is one of the vehicles, not one of the things collided with. So this figure comes from the party records: crashes with at least one party whose vehicle type is motorcycle.
- Are scooters and mopeds included?
- No. Motor-driven cycles and scooters of 15hp or less are a separate category in the data and are deliberately left out, so this figure is narrower than "two wheels with an engine". The real total for powered two-wheelers is higher than the number shown here.
- What about electric bikes?
- Not here either. Electric bicycles are their own vehicle type in the data and are not counted as motorcycles on this page.
- Does this tell me anything about lane splitting?
- No. This page counts crashes. It does not record whether a rider was splitting lanes, and nothing here bears on fault in any individual crash.