The five per cent rise in motorcyclists killed on our roads revealed in this week’s Department for Transport (DfT) statistics (28 June 2007) is a worrying statistic, said the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists).
The IAM said that the DfT latest statistics showed that there were 599 motorcycle user fatalities in 2006, a five per increase on the previous year.
“While we are pleased that the ‘all motorcycle user casualties figures’ also announced this week show a six per cent reduction, the increase in fatalities clearly indicates that there is an enormous education job still to be done. Biker deaths should not be defying the overall positive trend,” said IAM Chief Examiner Peter Rodger, himself a regular motorcyclist.
The IAM said that much greater focus is needed to find engineering solutions to stop roadside features killing and maiming riders. Recent research commissioned by the IAM Trust found that:
- 12–16 per cent of biker deaths involve crash barriers
- roadside crash barriers are designed to protect car occupants but they can kill motorcyclists
- riders who hit a crash barrier are 15 times more likely to be killed than car occupants
- injuries can be five times more severe when hitting roadside barriers than when hitting protected roadside objects
"It is intolerable that motorcyclists are 30 times more likely to die than car occupants on roads," said Mr Rodger.
"Training and enforcement are both vital. However, it is irrational and unacceptable that roadside barriers, which prevent deaths and injuries to thousands of car occupants, kill riders. The IAM Trust is committing £50K over two years to a pan-European study to look at how roads can be made much more forgiving to riders when a crash happens".
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28 June 2007
