Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of riding season in New England, and every year it arrives with a grim reminder: the stretch from May through August is when Massachusetts roads claim the most motorcycle lives. With the holiday three weeks away and traffic on Route 6, Route 28, and every other Cape Cod artery about to surge, this is the right time to understand what the law says about motorcycle accidents and what your family’s options are if something goes wrong.
The Numbers Are Sobering
Massachusetts recorded 65 fatal motorcycle crashes in 2025, down slightly from 68 the year before. Over the past decade the state has averaged roughly 45 to 50 motorcyclist deaths per year, with fatalities peaking in warmer months when ridership is highest. Injuries are even more common, with approximately 1,800 to 2,000 motorcycle crashes annually statewide, and roughly 80 percent of those crashes resulting in serious injury or death. Motorcyclists make up a small fraction of registered vehicles on Massachusetts roads but account for a disproportionate share of traffic fatalities.
Last June, a motorcyclist was killed on Route 28 in Falmouth after a vehicle pulled out of a common drive and failed to yield the right of way to the oncoming bike. The motorcycle struck the front driver’s side of the car and the rider was ejected. That crash, on one of Cape Cod’s busiest summer corridors, is a reminder of how quickly these accidents happen and how severe the consequences almost always are.
Why Motorcycle Accidents Are Different from Car Accidents
When a car hits another car, both drivers have steel, airbags, and seatbelts between them and the impact. When a car hits a motorcycle, the rider has none of that. The physics are unforgiving. Even at moderate speeds, a collision that would leave car occupants shaken but unharmed can leave a motorcyclist with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, shattered limbs, or worse.
This vulnerability makes the legal stakes higher too. Motorcycle accident claims typically involve more serious injuries, higher medical costs, longer recovery periods, and greater long-term economic losses than the average car accident claim. Insurance companies know this, and they work aggressively to minimize payouts from the moment a claim is filed.
The Most Common Causes, and Who is Liable
Car drivers, not motorcyclists, are at fault in the majority of multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes in Massachusetts. The most common scenario is a driver who fails to see the motorcycle, particularly at intersections, when making a left turn across oncoming traffic, or when pulling out of a driveway or side street. Distracted driving is a major contributing factor. Studies consistently show that car drivers underestimate the speed of approaching motorcycles and misjudge the gap needed to turn safely.
Under Massachusetts law, a driver who fails to yield the right of way, runs a red light, makes an unsafe turn, or operates while distracted or impaired and causes injury to a motorcyclist can be held liable for the full range of damages the rider suffers. Those damages include medical expenses, lost wages, future earning capacity if the injuries are permanent, pain and suffering, and, where a family has lost someone, wrongful death.
Massachusetts also follows a modified comparative fault rule under M.G.L. c. 231, § 85. If the motorcyclist is found to be partially at fault, their recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault, as long as that percentage does not exceed 50 percent. Insurance companies routinely try to assign a portion of blame to the rider, sometimes citing lane position, speed, or helmet use, as a way to reduce what they owe. Having an attorney who understands how to counter those arguments matters.
Massachusetts Helmet Law
Massachusetts requires all motorcycle operators and passengers to wear a helmet under M.G.L. c. 90, § 7. The state has one of the highest helmet compliance rates in the country at around 90 percent. Wearing a helmet does not prevent accidents, but it significantly reduces the severity of head injuries when they occur, and it removes one of the arguments insurers use to reduce a rider’s recovery.
What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident
The steps that protect your legal claim are the same ones that protect your health.
Call 911 immediately and make sure a police report is filed. Get medical attention right away, even if you feel okay, because adrenaline masks pain and some of the most serious injuries from motorcycle crashes, including internal bleeding and traumatic brain injury, are not immediately apparent. Photograph the scene, the vehicles, the road surface, any skid marks, and your injuries before anything is moved or cleaned up. Get the names and contact information of any witnesses.
Do not give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver’s insurance company before speaking with an attorney. Adjusters will ask questions designed to elicit answers that minimize your claim. You are not required to participate, and anything you say can and will be used to reduce what you recover.
The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Massachusetts is three years from the date of the accident. In wrongful death cases arising from a fatal motorcycle crash, the personal representative of the estate has three years from the date of death. Those deadlines are strictly enforced.
A Note for Drivers Sharing the Road This Summer
If you’re driving on the Cape this Memorial Day weekend or any time this summer, the most important thing you can do is look twice at intersections before turning. Check your mirrors and blind spots before changing lanes. Give motorcycles a full lane width and a safe following distance. The riders sharing the road with you have no margin for your mistakes.
If you or a family member has been injured in a motorcycle accident on Cape Cod or anywhere in Eastern Massachusetts, contact Weigand Law at 508-775-3118 or email [email protected] for a free consultation.
Attorney Blair E. Weigand — Helping those with legal questions for 35 years and counting.