Last Updated on September 6, 2016 4:41 pm
A noticeable pattern of recent accidents have involved motorcycles, both county and town wide. Since August 18th there have been six noted accidents involving motorcycles, with the most recent occurring this past Saturday on highway 105 in front of the entrance to Ingles. According to scanner dispatches at the time, accidents in Boone on August 18, 22, 30 and September 3 all involved motorcycles. Two separate accidents in the county, including the Blue Ridge Parkway, on August 29 were also dispatched to local EMS units.
The stats for the year show a bit of an uptick in accidents involving motorcycles in town, according to data provided by Boone Police. From January 1, 2016 through the afternoon of Tuesday September 6, there have been 12 total accidents, with the majority of those occurring in August (5). That is followed by June (4) and then March, April & September (1 each). By comparison for the same time in 2015 there were 7 total, with 4 occurring in May, 2 in March and one in April.
Though the wreck numbers are up in Boone they are down slightly in the county. According to data provided by the North Carolina Highway Patrol, there have been 7 total motorcycle related accidents in Watauga County from Jan 1-Sept 6, 2016. None of those accidents have been fatal. That number is down from 11 through the same period in 2015, that included one fatality.
From January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015 a total of 116 motorcycle crashes were reported, including 5 fatalities.
Graphic: NCDOT
