for cars. In the European union (the 28 member states) there were 3657 motorcycle rider and passenger fatalities in 2016, that is 14% of EU traffic fatalities, registered in the CARE database. Research Two major scientific research studies into the causes of motorcycle accidents have been conducted in North America and Europe: the Hurt Report (1981) and the MAIDS report (1999-00). Hurt Report A major work done on this subject in the United States is the Hurt Report, published in 1981 with data collected in Los Angeles and the surrounding rural areas. There have been longstanding calls for a new safety study in the US, and Congress has provided the seed money for such a project, but as yet the remainder of the funding has not all been pledged. The Hurt Report concluded with a list of 55 findings, as well as several major recommendations for law enforcement and legislation. Among these, 75% of motorcycle accidents involved a collision with another vehicle, usually a car. In the MAIDS report, the figure is 60%. Other notable findings in the Hurt report (quoted below) were: 75% of accidents were found to involve a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle, while the remaining 25% of accidents were single motorcycle accidents. In the single vehicle accidents, motorcycle rider error was present as the accident precipitating factor in about two-thirds of the cases, with the typical error being a slide-out and fall due to overbraking or running wide on a curve due to excess speed or lack of side bite. Almost half of the fatal accidents show alcohol involvement. Injury severity increases with speed, alcohol involvement and motorcycle size. In the multiple vehicle accidents, the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle right-of-way and caused the accident in two-thirds of those accidents. The report's additional findings show that wearing appropriate gear, specifically, a helmet and durable garments, mitigates crash injuries substantially. Vehicle failure accounted for less than 3% of these motorcycle accidents, and most of those were single vehicle accidents where control was lost due to a puncture flat. Weather is not a factor in 98% of motorcycle accidents. The failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle accidents. Conspicuity of the motorcycle is a critical factor in the multiple vehicle accidents, and accident involvement is significantly reduced by the use of motorcycle headlamps-on In daylight and