Bike Week and its smaller cousin, Biketoberfest, draw hundreds of thousands of riders to Daytona and surrounding Florida counties. Unfortunately, the Bike Week and Biketoberfest death tolls keep climbing.

Motorcycle Accident Deaths during Bike Week:
Bike Week of March 2006 was the deadliest Bike Week on record with 21 deaths. The 10-day event attracted more than 500,000 visitors to the Daytona area. The previous record of motorcycle deaths connected to Bike Week was 15 fatalities which occurred in 2000. Although the turnout was about the same as previous years, the nature of the event is transforming, says Kevin Kilian, vice president of events and communications for The Chamber, Daytona Beach Halifax Area. It is no longer centered in Daytona Beach along Main Street, Kilian says. Bikers are being lured to such destinations as Ormond Beach, DeLand, Edgewater, and Orlando. During the most recent Biketoberfest (October 2005) there were five reported motorcycle related deaths.

Although impaired and inexperienced motorcycle riders are to blame for many such accidents, according to law enforcement officials 40 percent of the Bike Week deaths in 2006 were caused by the driver of another vehicle. In the 2006 Bike Week fatalities in which drivers were determined at fault, at least six of the bikers who died were wearing helmets.

Although there are some groups currently advocating stiffer penalties against car drivers who carelessly collide with motorcycles, in general careless drivers who kill bikers do not face felony charges such as vehicular homicide unless they leave the scene of the accident or they have been speeding, drinking or driving with a suspended license. Typically, traffic fines for drivers who kill range from $200 to $1,000. Licenses also often are suspended. Although these careless drivers can sometimes be held accountable for substantial money damages in personal injury or wrongful death claims, many negligent motorists carry no liability insurance and they have very few assets with which to compensate their victims or the family of the victims.  That is why McMillen Law Firm strongly recommends that motorcycle riders carry uninsured motorist coverage.

Types of Accidents Causing Deaths:
There were of course many other motorcycle accidents that caused severe injuries that did not result in death. Some examples of the 2006 Bike Week motorcycle accidents involving rider or passenger deaths appear below:

While trying to pass a truck pulling a trailer, a 51-year-old motorcycle rider collided head on into another motorcycle rider on State Road 40 just north of Ormond Beach. Both motorcycle riders died.

A pickup turned in front of a biker on International Speedway Boulevard. The 60-year-old motorcyclist slammed into the side of the pickup and died on the scene. Troopers said the motorcycle rider was wearing a helmet and obeying the speed limit.

A 44-year-old corrections officer from West Palm Beach died while driving his 2003 Honda Shadow from International Speedway Boulevard to Interstate 95. He lost control of the motorcycle and hit a guardrail. He was not wearing a helmet.

In Port Orange, a 59-year-old rider from Virginia crossed over his lane and drove his Harley Davidson into a Harley Davidson driven by a 50-year-old rider from New York. Neither was wearing a helmet, and one died and the other was seriously injured. A female passenger who was wearing a helmet was reported to have leg injuries.

In a crash occurring in Flagler County on U.S. Highway 1 near Belle Terre Parkway a 22-year-old car driver turned his vehicle in front of a motorcycle killing a 41-year-old motorcycle rider and his 37-year-old female passenger.

A 21-year-old Suzuki rider was killed on State Road 435 north of Apopka when he lost control at a curb, slid, and hit a guardrail.

A 63-year-old Lake Wales man was killed after a sport utility vehicle struck the back of his motorcycle when he was stopped at a light on West International Speedway Boulevard and Tomoka Farms Road in Daytona Beach.

A man died in a single-motorcycle crash at U.S. Highway 1 and Old Kings Road in Flagler County when he lost control and drove off the road

A 21-year-old Jacksonville woman died in St. Augustine while riding home from Bike Week. A sport utility vehicle changed lanes on Interstate 95 and hit the back of the motorcycle. The woman was a passenger on the bike driven by her 25-year-old boyfriend, who was reported to be in critical condition. Both riders were wearing helmets.

A 42-year-old Lakeland man died when his 1985 Harley-Davidson motorcycle collided with another while traveling side-by-side on the Bee Line Expressway at the State Road 520 Exit in Brevard County. He was wearing a helmet.

A 67-year-old traveling north on Interstate 95 near the Brevard-Volusia County line was killed when his Honda motorcycle ran into the center median near Scottsmoor. His motorcycle overturned several times in the median. He was wearing a helmet.

A 1995 Honda motorcycle driven by a 32-year-old man from Deland collided with a sport utility vehicle on International Speedway Boulevard at about 2:30 a.m. Police said the SUV, driven by a 35-year-old St. Augustine woman, stopped momentarily at a red light and then drove into the intersection with Indigo Drive, where the crash occurred. The motorcycle rider and his 35-year-old passenger both died, and neither wore a helmet. Although the pair had head injuries, EVAC officials said helmets might not have saved their lives because they had other injuries.

A motorcyclist died in Oak Hill on U.S. Highway 1 after crashing into a deer that ran onto the roadway at 6 am. The motorcyclist was then run over by a van

Motorcycle Deaths Occurring during Biketoberfest 2006
During the much smaller 2006 Biketoberfest event there were 7 reported motorcycle deaths.  Reports included:

AGE: Male 70
HOMETOWN: Sanford
CRASH SITE: State Road 415 and Fort Smith Boulevard, Deltona
HELMET: Yes, but flew off from impact
OF NOTE: Killed when a car turned left in front of him.

AGE: Male 44
HOMETOWN: Anchorage, Alaska
CRASH SITE: International Speedway Boulevard at Wild Olive Avenue
HELMET: Yes
OF NOTE: Was seen slumped over the handlebars before hitting a curb and then the pavement. Autopsy is pending.

AGE: Male 68
HOMETOWN: Bunnell
CRASH SITE: State Road 100, four miles west of Deen Road, Bunnell
HELMET: Yes
OF NOTE: Attempted to pass a tractor-trailer and was hit head-on.

AGE: Female 58
HOMETOWN: Boynton Beach
CRASH SITE: Interstate 4 near State Road 44, Volusia County
HELMET: No
OF NOTE: A passenger, was taken to Halifax Medical Center after the crash with injuries not thought to be life-threatening. She died later.

AGE: Female 39
HOMETOWN: Coconut Creek
CRASH SITE: West International Speedway Boulevard, Daytona Beach
HELMET: not applicable
OF NOTE: Was crossing ISB, not at a crosswalk, when she was struck by a motorcycle.

AGE: Male 45
HOMETOWN: Spring Hill
CRASH SITE: Mason Avenue and Williamson Boulevard.
HELMET: Unknown
OF NOTE: Speeding west on Mason Avenue, he lost control and hit a curb.

AGE: Male 82
HOMETOWN: Tampa
CRASH SITE: U.S. 92 and Harney Road, Tampa
HELMET: Yes
OF NOTE: Swerved to avoid a slowing SUV and rear-ended a pickup in the other lane. Was returning from Daytona Beach.

Motorcycle Deaths Occurring during Biketoberfest 2005:
There were 6 reported motorcycle deaths connected to Biketoberfest of October 2005, 4 of which occurred in a single incident.  In 2003, two people died during BiketoberFest, and there were 4 deaths in 2001 and 4 deaths in 2002.

In the October 2005, Biketoberfest, two cars plowed into four motorcyclists stopped at an accident scene. Three of the bikers died at the scene just before midnight Oct. 19 and a fourth died eight hours later at the hospital. All of the bikers were kneeling or lying in the southbound lane of State Road 415 after crashing into a shaggy black dog and each other. Police stated the bikers could not be seen in the middle of the dark roadway and there was no time for the oncoming car drivers to react.

Also during the 2005 Biketoberfest, a 20-year-old man died when the motorcycle he was driving slammed into the back of a pickup. Police report the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet but was also speeding.

If you have been involved in a Bike Week or Biketoberfest accident, please feel free to fill out our online form "Do I have a good case?" or call our toll free number: 1-800-974-4929.

 

The McMillen Law Firm represents motorcycle accident victims throughout Florida, including Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Ft. Lauderdale, Bradenton, Clearwater, Daytona Beach, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Kissimmee, Melbourne, Miami, Naples, Panama City, Pensacola, Sarasota, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg, Sebring, Tallahassee, Vero Beach, and West Palm Beach, and the counties of Bay, Brevard, Broward, Collier, Dade, Duval, Escambia, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lee, Leon, Manatee, Martin, Miami, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, St. John’s, St. Lucie, Sarasota, Stuart, and Volusia.