How South Dakota Ranks Among The Safest States For Motorcyclists

This week, we were treated to a double-barreled batch of good news on the motorcycle front in South Dakota.

First came word that J&L Harley Davidson in Sioux Falls finished third in the nation in Harley-Davidson’s national 'Let’s Ride for Heroes' challenge. In total, J&L's customers rode over 800,000 miles!

Fresh on the heels of that is the news that the Mount Rushmore State is one of the safest in America for motorcycle riders.

Big Auto Accident Attorneys analyzed the latest motorcycle safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and motorcycle registration data from the Federal Highway Administration to identify the states where riders face the least number of risks on the road.

In South Dakota, the data shows that the state's motorcycle fatality rate of only 19.34 deaths per 100,000 registered motorcycles is the third best in the nation, nearly 10 times lower than the most dangerous state, Mississippi (189.3).

Total Deaths (per 100k Registered Motorcycles)

Montana (6.61)
New York (19.24)
South Dakota (19.34)
Utah (19.92)
Minnesota (30.56)
Maine (31.08)
Alaska (31.16)
Wisconsin (31.51)
Iowa (32.06)
North Dakota (36.52)

According to the National Safety Council's Injury Facts, although motorcycles make up only 3% of all registered vehicles and 0.6% of all vehicle miles traveled in the United States, motorcyclists accounted for 15.5% of all traffic fatalities and 3.4% of all injuries.

[brandedapppromno]

What Did South Dakota's License Plate Look Like the Year You Were Born?

The first number on a South Dakota license plate is the county that the car is registered. For example, Pennington county where Rapid City is has a '2' starting its plates. In Sioux Falls you have either a '1' or a '44' depending on your relationship to 57th street.

When established in 1956 (and revised in 1987) the first nine counties were ordered by population. Starting with 10 they are in alphabetical order through Ziebach, with Oglala Lakota County (65) and Todd (67) rounding out the list.

Today the top 10 plate numbers and populations don't correlate anymore. 1 and 2 are still 1 and 2, but Lincoln (44) is now 3rd in population. Beadle is 4 but it's now 11th in population. See the list by population here.

On January 1, 2023, South Dakota started issuing a new license plate design for license plates.

So, let's take a look back at what South Dakota license plates looked like over the last 100 years.

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns

What Was It like to Vacation in South Dakota’s Black Hills 60 Years Ago?

This time of year our thoughts often turn to planning that perfect getaway to enjoy the warmer weather and extended daylight.

For a lot of us in South Dakota, that means a trek to the Black Hills and all of the things they have to offer.

But vacationing in western South Dakota is hardly a new concept. People from all over the globe have been coming to the area for decades.

Gallery Credit: Jeff Harkness/B1027.com

Top 11 Novels Set in South Dakota (That Aren't by Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Hundreds of novels are published every year. Those books are often set in exciting places like space or the future. Sometimes they take place in amazing locations like London, Tokyo, or even Omaha.

And a few books are set in South Dakota! And some of those are not by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

South Dakota is often associated with Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House on the Prairie books because she lived here and wrote books about this part of the country. Then there was that TV show.

When it comes to novels, Laura Ingalls Wilder and South Dakota go together like cowpies and campfires.

So, we turned to the good folks at GoodReads, a center of 'book-internet,' to find out what are the top novels set in South Dakota that aren't by Laura Ingalls Wilder.