LEGAL STORIES AND INSIGHTS FROM BREWERWOOD.

A recent report shows that the roads are not getting any safer for motorcycles in Arizona. The number of deadly accidents went up in 2015, rising from 128 in 2014 to 134 last year.

Officials said that speed was often a factor. They noted that some motorcyclists went faster than conditions should have allowed.

However, the problem may not be contained just to motorcycles. Most accident statistics went up in 2015. For example, overall motor vehicle deaths jumped by a frightening 15.6 percent from 2014 to 2015. There were 774 overall deaths in 2014, but there were 121 more in 2015, bringing the total to 895.

The overall numbers are not anywhere near the peak, though. In 2006, there were a record 1,301 deaths. Still, the trend in that direction, for both motorcycles and other types of vehicles, is not what officials were hoping to see.

It is interesting to look at the bicycle crash stats, which went against the norm and dropped in 2015. There were 1,744 bike accidents back in 2014 and then just 1,434 last year. However, the real key stats — fatalities — remained the same, as 29 cyclists were killed in both years. This means that the death rate was actually higher in 2015 than it was in 2014.

There are many factors that contribute to these types of stats, such as how many miles are driven during the year and how many cars are on the road. Even so, the raw numbers do show that many people are being injured or killed every year, and that trend is not slowing down, so you need to know your rights to compensation.