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Diesel spill accidents
Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable to injuries due to the lack of protection that a motorcycle affords when compared to a car (seatbelt and bodywork/crumple zones). Around 80% of motorcyclists killed as a result of road accidents suffer major head injuries.
Head injuries can be caused in very low speed accidents and motorcycle helmets offer good protection against such injuries (although they do not guarantee protection). It is believed that helmets reduce the risk of fatal head injury by around 50%. Leg and arm injuries are also common and leg injuries in particular can be serious and often cause permanent disability.
The failure of car driving motorists to detect and recognise motorcycles in traffic is the predominant cause of motorcycle accidents. For example where the driver of the other vehicle involved in collision with the motorcycle did not see the motorcycle before the collision, or did not see the motorcycle until too late to avoid the collision.
Factors that contribute to motorcycle accidents are the speeds that they can reach, their acceleration rate (high power to weight ratio), their relative lack of stability (single track) when compared to 4 wheeled vehicles and their conspicuousness. Motorcycles have poor sensory conspicuousness (the physical qualities of the approaching vehicle that distinguish it from its background) and cognitive conspicuousness (the degree to which the observer’s experience or intentions affects the salience of the approaching vehicle) due to the smaller size of the motorcycle and being less frequent and hence less expected than cars.
Improving the visibility of motorcyclists can be achieved by utilising day lights, by distinctive vehicle colouration and by wearing clothing that contains fluorescent and reflective material. This will increase the visibility of the rider and hence help to reduce the likelihood of an accident occurring.
The road environment can be hazardous to motorcyclists irrespective of other vehicles. For example, changes in the level of friction of road surfaces, pot holes, uneven surfaces, poor surface repairs, spillages, drain covers, debris and road markings. Diesel and gravel can be especially hazardous on bends in the road when the surface area of the tyre in contact with the slippery road surface is reduced by the banking vehicle.
