Motorcyclists involved in accidents are 40 times more likely to be killed than car drivers. In 2004, 25,641 motorcyclists were injured (6,063 seriously) and 585 killed. Fortunately these figures represented a significant decrease from the statistics for 2003 although the figures are clearly still too high with the majority of such accidents being arguably avoidable. The number of motorcycles (including scooters and mopeds) licensed in the UK was nearly 950,000 by the beginning of 2003.
A study (Clarke et al 2004) has indicated that there are 2 clear peaks in casualty age (21-25 & 31-35) and that there are 3 basic discernable motorcycle crash types:
- Right of way violation accidents (38% of cases)
- Loss of control at bends at speed (11% plus of cases)
- Overtaking/filtering accidents (15% of cases)
Clarke et al found that road users other than the injured motorcyclists are usually the cause of crashes and therefore road safety initiatives should be targeted at those other road users in addition to bikers.
Fatal accidents often involve the motorcycle running off the road (41% of fatalities). These are often late at night, weekend crashes involving a motorcyclist under the influence of alcohol. (Preusser et al 1995). As solo accidents without collision with another vehicle account for only a small proportion of total accidents, it appears that impairment has a much more deadly effect on motorcyclists than simply rider fault.
Recent European research reveals that nearly 70% of motorcycle accidents involved a car, lorry or bus and that approximately 55% of accidents occur at junctions. It is unlikely that in all these cases the motorist failed to look but rather failed to see the motorcyclist. Larger-engine machines are increasingly being involved in accidents which peak at summer weekends when recreational use is at its highest. This is perhaps not surprising when one considers that machines over 500cc have trebled in number over the last 15 years and now account for over half the motorcycles on the UK’s roads. Elliot et al (2003) showed that almost two-thirds of the riders killed on non-built-up roads were aged over 30 and were riding bikes with an engine capacity greater than 500cc.
