Hurt Report

[3] Professor Hurt, with a team of investigators (all of whom were motorcyclists themselves)[3] examined motorcycle accident scenes in the City of Los Angeles, day and night, during the twenty-four-month period of 1976–77.

[3] The study took place throughout the City of Los Angeles including urban as well as rural conditions, e.g., incidents of motorcycles striking animals.

Hundreds of accident-involved riders donated their helmet to the research, which allowed team members to disassemble, measure, photograph and record the accident damage as part of the study.

Among the major points: two-thirds of motorcycle-car crashes occurred when the car driver failed to see the approaching motorcycle and violated the rider's right-of-way.

"[3] Nonetheless, while the Hurt Report "remains the benchmark of motorcycle crash research"[4] and contained at the time of its publication factual, verifiable information, in clear scientific terms — it has been described as outdated.

[10] In 2009, the Federal Highway Administration and Oklahoma State University's Oklahoma Transportation Center began conducting an 'abbreviated' Motorcycle Crash Causation Study with 300 case studies[10] "to help identify common factors – including road configurations, environmental conditions and rider experience"[5] and "how these factors may be affected by countermeasures that, if effectively implemented, will prevent motorcycle crashes or lessen the harm when they occur.

[12] Subsequent research by Bianca Albanese and colleagues (2017) may explain this ineffectiveness: the CE marking standard for motorcycle armour is too low, with inadequate impact absorption to reduce fractures.

It was the first study to conclude that: “A reduction in the maximum force limit would improve rider protection and appears feasible.”[13] Work continues on determining a global standard for collection of worldwide data on motorcycle accidents and safety, which would enable international sharing of research.