The Department of Transport has released figures of the number of serious injuries and deaths of motorcyclists involved in road traffic accidents on the UK’s roads.
Statistics for 2009 show that 547 motorcyclists were killed, 6,361 were seriously injured and there were 26,192 accidents overall.
It is thought that their poor safety record is partly due to less protection than that afforded to car drivers. Figures from 1999 show that the number of motorcyclists seriously injured or killed every million kilometres were double that of cyclists, and 16 times greater than car drivers.
However, it’s not all bad news. Even though the comparative risk taken by bike riders is high compared to car drivers, the overall mortality rate for motorcyclists has improved during the last decade; the number of deaths and serious injuries due to road traffic accidents has reduced by 23%.
Surprisingly, age does not influence the mortality rate. In 2008, 60% of deaths involved people younger than 20, but the Department of Transport has determined that reckless driving, inability to control the bike and overtaking other vehicles are major factors. Weather and road conditions are also an influence.
Speaking on these latest road traffic accident statistics, Paul Breen of Serious Law said:
“The research carried out does suggest that accidents involving motorcycles are on the decrease in Great Britain. However, the number of drivers killed or seriously injured is still dramatically high in comparison to other road users. We can only hope that drivers become more conscious of road safety and the importance of protective gear so that we can continue to see serious injury statistics diminish.”
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