Motorcycle-related deaths were up 11 percent for 2003 compared to the previous year, according to preliminary estimates released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The preliminary report states that 3,592 motorcyclists were killed in 2003, up from 3,244 in 2002.

Meanwhile, the report also noted increases in SUV and large truck fatalities, while passenger car fatalities were down slightly. Overall, 43,220 people were killed on the nation's highways in 2003, compared to 42,815 in 2002.

These latest numbers from the NHTSA add more urgency to the call for Congress to fund updated research into the causes of motorcycle crashes, Moreland said.

The last comprehensive study on the subject was conducted more than 20 years ago. That study, commonly called the Hurt Report after lead researcher Harry Hurt, helped add momentum to the drive for motorcyclist-training programs that existed in few states in the 1970s and now are available from coast to coast.

Moreland noted that motorcycle safety experts still base a significant portion of their work on the Hurt Report, but that they are hampered because the information is almost thirty years old. He noted that the level of traffic, the mix of vehicles on the road, and the numbers of distractions faced by drivers have all changed dramatically since the Hurt Report was published.

Moreland and his staff in the AMA's Washington, D.C., office are working to get $3 million authorized for a new comprehensive study into the causes of motorcycle crashes. The funding would be part of congressional reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, commonly called TEA-21.

Many federal lawmakers are backing the proposal. The AMA urges motorcyclists to contact their members of Congress and ask them to support funding for a comprehensive study of motorcycle crashes.