In the past five months, 10 people have died in six area motorcycle accidents.

One reason, authorities say, may be an increase in motorcycle riders.

State Police Sgt. Bill Emery said that with good weather and high gas prices, there are probably more people out riding motorcycles.

"The deaths will increase with more bikes out there," Emery said.

Motorcycle fatalities now account for 13 percent of total traffic deaths in the U.S., according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Motorcyclist deaths increased 6.6 percent in 2007, while total motor vehicle fatalities dropped 3.9 percent from the previous year, according to a report issued in mid-August.

Ray Tyson, spokesman for the federal highway safety agency, said the increases in motorcycle registrations and motorycle deaths have been going on for 10 years.

The latest motorcycle registration data, for 2006, shows an increase in the U.S. of 60 percent – or 2.3 million more motorcycles – over the year before.

A recent state police study of motorcycle crashes in District 10 in East Central Illinois, between 2003 and 2007, showed an average of seven motorcycle fatalities per year. The leading causes in those fatal crashes were alcohol, speed and right of way. Helmets were not used in 59 percent of the crashes, according to Master Sgt. Rory Steidl, who analyzed the data.

To put the recent crashes in perspective, there were eight people killed in motorcycle crashes for all of 2007, he said.

Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup said there has been an increase in local motorcycle fatalities, but the causes vary.

Northrup said that, based on preliminary investigations, the crashes are not always the fault of an automobile driver not paying attention to a motorcycle. In seven recent motorcycle crash deaths in Champaign County, the fault appears to be with the motorcycle driver in some cases, but with a driver of another vehicle in others, he said. Of those seven fatalities, four were wearing helmets and three were not.

Coles County Coroner Michael Nichols said there was an unusual double motorcycle crash near Mattoon that is still under investigation.

"We had one motorcycle run into the back of another motorcycle," he said.

Nichols, who has been coroner for 14 years and was deputy coroner for another 14 years, said this is the first motorcycle crash of its kind he has seen in Coles County.

Nichols said the general increase in motorcycles may be due to more people driving them.

Steve Mechling, a motorcycle police officer at the University of Illinois, had a crash in 2003 where he went over the handlebars, landed on his head and bounced back to his feet.

"I could have been a goner had I not been wearing a helmet," Mechling said.

Mechling said gloves, heavy jeans, a heavy jacket and over-the-ankle boots are also important. Motorcycle riders are obviously exposed to more dangers than automobile drivers, he said.

For example, a car driver can just turn on his windshield wipers if it starts to rain, but a motorcycle rider has impaired visibility and more distraction.

"I have been riding down the road and have a bug hit me," he said. "I don't lose control, but it makes you flinch."

Another factor is that 30 states, including Illinois, do not require motorcyclists to wear helmets, Tyson said.

Lack of training and experience driving motorcycles also are factors, Tyson said. But that's not because more young drivers are riding motorcycles. Studies show that the biggest increases in motorcycle registrations are among baby boomers, he said.

Those include people who rode motorcycles previously and are now coming back to it, along with those who have always had an interest but are just now getting involved, he said.

Marisa Kollias, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said the number of motorcycle registrations has increased statewide from 560,000 in 2002 to 580,000 in 2006. Last year, motorcycle fatalities accounted for 12 percent of traffic deaths in Illinois, she said.

John Sudlow, motorcycle rider safety program coordinator at the University of Illinois, said that while the increased motorcycle registrations continue a trend, higher gasoline prices may result in former weekend or recreation motorcycle riders now using them for daily driving.

Sudlow said there has been no comprehensive study of causes of motorcycle deaths for 20 years, but among the causes of motorcycle deaths are lack of proper safety gear for motorcycle riders, speed and lack of attention by automobile drivers.

The program talks about the need for driving a motorcycle unimpaired and defensively, he said.

Instructors also emphasize the need for motorcycle riders to make their presence known to automobile drivers, he said.

Personal responsibility of motorcycle riders for their own safety is a key principle, Sudlow said. That includes wearing "all the gear, all the time," he said. Those responsibilities also include being unimpaired and not distracted.

Sudlow said automobile drivers who have had close calls driving their cars may not be good candidates for riding a motorcycle, he said.

"If you have automobile driving problems, you don't have the luxury of close calls on a motorcycle," he said.

By the numbers

Nationwide motorcycle accident facts:

— Fatalities accounted for 13 percent of all vehicle crash deaths in 2007.

— The number of riders or passengers who died in accidents increased 6.6 percent over the motorcycle deaths in 2006.

— Fatalities in 2007 were 5,154, up from 4,837 the previous year.

— Crash injuries nationwide in 2007 were 103,000, up from 88,000 the previous year.

— There were about 35 times more deaths on motorcycles than in cars for every mile traveled in 2006.

— Fatalities decreased each year from 1995 to 1997, reaching a historic low of 2,116 in 1997. Beginning in 1998, fatalities started to increase each year.

— Overall traffic fatalities have dropped each year since 1994; the drop for 2007 compared with 2006 was from 42,708 to 41,059, or a decrease of 3.9 percent.

Source: National Highway Transportation Administration