Campaigns
MAG Position - The Safety Issue
An Old Fashioned View?
Motorcycles are perceived as being a disproportionately dangerous form of transport and are often excluded from traffic plans on the grounds of roads safety. However, recent, dramatic and sustained improvements in urban motorcycle safety records over many years have done little to change views about motorcycles and road safety. It is time that this blinkered view is challenged.
Drawing Comparisons -- Cars and Motorcycles.
In 1987, the Government started a campaign to reduce road casualties on Britain's roads by one third by the year 2000 from a baseline average casualty figure among all road users during 1981-85. Within this overall target was built a framework for different vehicle types. Car casualties were to be reduced by 30 per cent, whereas the motorcycle community was given a 40 per cent reduction target. Overall, good progress has been made on the numbers killed and seriously injured. 3,599 road users of all kinds were killed in 1997 compared to the 5,598 1981-85 baseline figure -- a 36 per cent reduction. There was a 42 per cent reduction in those seriously injured over the same period.
Motorcycle casualty figures have shown far more dramatic improvements. Deaths are down by 49 per cent, serious injuries are down by 70 percent and slight injuries down by 60 percent. The overall motorcycle casualty figure is down by 63 per cent -- exceeding the government target by 23 per cent, four years in advance of the year 2000 target date. Against this, sales of motorcycles increased by 36% in 1997. A recent blip in deaths and serious injuries has been largely attributed to non-urban motorcycle accidents.
The picture for car user casualties is somewhat different. Deaths are down by 18 per cent and serious injuries are down by 25 per cent, but slight injuries are up by 66 per cent -- an overall increase in car casualties of 47 per cent.
The reasons behind these stark differences in car and motorcycle casualties are easy to identify, Road Accidents Great Britain 1997 (DETR) shows that car traffic was up by 56.8 per cent over the 1981-85 baseline, with motorcycle traffic down by 52.6 per cent. But even with the casualty figures adjusted to take this into account, car casualties have only fallen by 6.4 per cent, whilst motorcycle casualties are down by 21 per cent, more than three times the casualty reduction of cars users.
Cyclists
Casualty figures among cyclists also continue to give cause for concern. Based on 1997 figures (DETR), cycling has seen a 34.2 per cent fall in use from the 1981-85 baseline average, with the casualty figures falling by 13.4 per cent from the 1981-85 baseline figure. However, the adjusted figures show that the cycling casualty rate actually increased by a massive 31.5 per cent, the only group of personal transport users to show an increase in accident rates per km travelled.
A Balanced View?
The major source of road casualties is the motor car, a vehicle type that continues to receive far more support in resource terms than the motorcycle. Similarly, the current policy of heavy public promotion of cycle use must be questioned given that this is set against a background of increasing cyclist casualties. Cycling is getting more dangerous but is a heavily promoted form of alternative transport. Car driving is the major source of danger but it is still dominant. Bizarrely, urban motorcycling is getting safer overall, but is still often ignored as an alternative for reasons of safety, a factor not often considered by those who promote cycle use.
The Way Forward.
An important factor behind the dramatic improvement in urban motorcycle safety is the continued development of training for motorcyclists. The introduction of Compulsory Basic Training for motorcyclists in 1990 made a significant impact on motorcycle safety. At the same time, standards in professional training bodies have improved and the riders themselves are better equipped to face today's road conditions. However, there are still too many motorcycle accidents occurring, with the majority of them not being the fault of the motorcyclist.
In 1989, Booth found that 62 per cent of urban motorcycle accidents are caused by other road users (Characteristics of Urban Motorcycle Accidents). There is little evidence that this picture has changed significantly since then. Better standards of motorcycle awareness among other road users must be a priority and the recent changes to the theory test to accommodate this are welcomed. Separate measures are needed to tackle rural motorcycle accidents. MAG supports the Bikesafe 2000 initiative, a measure adopted by every UK police force that has been shown to result in a reduction in single vehicle motorcycle accidents.
Understanding Accidents.
Recent research by the Royal Automobile Club and the Motorcycle Industry Association has identified problems with the current collation of data in the official UK accident figures. The study 'Primary Motorcycle Safety' found that the interpretation of injury to vary widely between police officers completing STATS19 reports. Many injuries are inaccurately recorded, leading to unavoidable errors in the official figures. It will be difficult to accurately determine correct accident injury risk conclusions for any class of road user until greater consistency is achieved. Action should be taken to give a clearer definition of injury in STATS19 records.
Pedestrian Casualties and Motorcycles.
Government figures suggest that once distance travelled by each mode is accounted for, motorcycles are involved in a higher proportion of pedestrian casualties than those caused by cars. The reasons for this have not been fully established, but as modern motorcycles are in the main quiet and unobtrusive, it seems that pedestrians are both failing to hear the approach of motorcycles and taking insufficient care to look out for motorcycles before stepping into their path.
Perceptions About Speed.
Arguments against increased motorcycle use are sometimes based on perceptions of motorcyclists as being more prone to speeding than other motorised road users. Once the evidence has been considered and comparisons made with other road users, the true picture is somewhat different. DETR figures show motorcycles are more likely to comply with 30 mph speed limits than cars. 1997 records show that the average speed of motorcycles in urban areas to be 32 mph. The average for cars was 33 mph. 40% of motorcycles complied with 30 mph limits as opposed to only 30 % of cars. This does not mean that motorcyclists can avoid their responsibilities concerning speed, but given that the vast majority (70 percent) of cars are driven over the 30 mph limit, worries about speeding motorcyclists should be put in context before alarmists views are propagated.
Problems with speeding motorists of all classes should be solved by a combination of education and more effective enforcement measures.
MAG UK© October 2001 All rights reserved.
