Deaths from motorcycle accidents in Iowa rose sharply in 2012 from the previous year. Fifty-six people died in motorcycle crashes in 2012, while 34 did in 2011. Two of those deaths occurred in Washington County last year. According to the DOT, approximately 90-percent of motorcycle fatality victims were not wearing a safety helmet and about half of the crashes involve another vehicle.

Only two states in the nation, Iowa and Illinois, do not have any motorcycle helmet laws, according to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety.