The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
Motorcycling Safety Position Paper - February 2001

3 MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES

3.1 Despite forming only 1% of road traffic, motorcyclists account for 14% (one in seven) of road deaths and serious injuries. However, casualties amongst motorcyclists have dropped significantly from their 1981-1985 average. As can be seen in Table 5, motorcyclist fatalities have fallen by 45%, serious injuries by 68%, and slight injuries by 57%. Overall TWMV user casualties have decreased by 60%.

Table 5 : TWMV Casualties in Great Britain, 1981/85 and 1999
Casualties	1999	1981-85	% change
Fatal	547	989	- 45
Serious	6,361	19,714	- 68
Slight	19,284	44,490	- 57
Total	26,192	65,193	- 60

3.2 Worringly, the number of motorcyclists killed rose by 10% between 1998 and 1999, the number seriously injured rose by 7% and those slightly injured by 6% . This may be due to a 16% rise in motorcycle traffic between 1998 and 1999, which means that the motorcycle casualty rate by distance travelled fell by 8%. However, caution should be used when interpreting trends from changes in accident data from one year to the next.

3.3 The vast majority (94%) of motorcyclist casualties are riders, with passengers forming just 7% of casualties. Casualty reductions in absolute numbers for pillion passengers have been even greater than those for riders.

Table 6 : TWMV Rider and Passenger Casualties in Great Britain, 1981/85 and 1999
Casualties	1999	1981-85	% change
Riders
Fatal	525	861	- 39
Serious	5,918	17,649	- 66
Slight	18,073	39,945	- 55
Total	24,516	58,455	- 58
Passengers
Fatal	22	128	- 83
Serious	443	2,064	- 78
Slight	1,211	4,544	- 73
Total	1,676	6,736	- 75

3.4 Casualty Rates
While some of the changes in motorcyclist casualties may be attributed to the fall in motorcycle use, the motorcyclist casualty rate per billion kilometres travelled in 1999 had also fallen by 26% from its 1981 - 85 level.

3.5 Motorcyclist casualty rates are much higher than other road users, as can be seen in Table 7.

Table 7: Casualty Rates per 100 million vehicle kilometres by Road User Group, 1999
Road user Group	Killed	KSI	All Severities
Pedal Cyclists	4.1	7.6	544
TWMV Riders	11	140	533
Car Drivers	0.3	3.4	35
All Riders & Drivers	0.4	5.1	41

3.6 The casualty rate for motorcyclists is 15 times higher than that of car drivers, but similar to that of pedal cyclists. The fatality rate for motorcyclists is three times higher than for pedal cyclists, but 40 times higher than that for car drivers, reflecting the fact that motorcyclists are not protected by a vehicle body, seat belts or the other occupant protection systems that car drivers enjoy.

3.7 Vehicle Involvement Rates Vehicle accident involvement rates show that motorcyclists are more likely to be involved in accidents. Table 8 shows that motorcycles are seven times more likely to be involved in an accident than a car, and 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal or serious accident.

Table 8: Vehicle Involvement Rates by Type of Vehicle, 1999
Road user Group	Fatal	Fatal & Serious	All Severities
Pedal Cycles	4.5	80	563
TWMVs	13	159	592
Cars	1.0	11	87
All Vehicles	1.2	13	91

3.8 Motorcyclist Casualties by Age
There is a clear relationship between motorcyclist casualties and age, as can be seen in Table 9. There are few casualties below the age of 16 years because two wheeled motor vehicles are generally not used by children. Moped users show a casualty peak between the ages of 16 and 19 years. Motorcycle and motorcycle scooter user casualties peak between 20 - 49 years. These patterns probably reflect usage patterns of different types of motorcycles.

Table 9: Motorcyclist Casualties by Age, 1999
	Moped Users			Motorcycle and Scooter Users
	Killed	KSI	All	Killed	KSI	All
0 - 15	1	26	65	2	39	93
16 - 19	6	266	1,734	38	578	2,415
20 - 29	2	96	576	170	1,756	6,527
30 - 39	1	44	305	173	2,042	7,225
40 - 49	1	29	190	75	921	3,002
50 - 59	2	25	140	29	387	1,314
60 +	4	33	125	19	130	412
All Ages*	17	527	3,192	508	5,937	21,421
* Includes age not reported.

3.9 Motorcyclist Casualties by Gender
Motorcyclist casualties are predominately male. Men account for 93% of motorcyclist deaths and 88% of total motorcyclist casualties.

Table 10: Motorcyclist Casualties by Gender, 1999
	Male	Female	All
Killed	508	39	547
KSI	6,256	651	6,907
Total	23,263	2,920	26,183

3.10 Casualties by Location
Overall, almost three quarters (72%) of motorcyclist casualties occur on built-up roads (roads with a speed limit of up to 40 mph), even though such roads carry less than half of motorcycle traffic. The pattern differs for different types of motorcycle. Around 85% of moped and scooter casualties occur on built up roads, compared to around 70% of motorcycle casualties.

3.11 One quarter ( 26%) of casualties occur on rural roads (roads with a speed limit of over 40 mph). And just 1% of motorcyclist casualties occur on motorways, which carry 7% of motorcyclist traffic.

3.12 However, the pattern for motorcyclist fatalities differs: 60% of motorcyclist deaths occur on non built-up roads, 37% on built-up roads and 3% on motorways.

Table 11: Motorcyclist Casualties by Type of Roads, 1999
	Killed	KSI	All
Motorways	16	148	458
Built-up Roads	195	3,444	16,039
Non Built-up Roads	319	2,789	6,503
All Speed Limits*	530	6,381	23,000
* Includes speed limit not reported

3.13 Casualty rates by distance travelled show that built-up A roads have a significantly higher rate for motorcyclists than other types of road, followed by built-up minor roads.

3.14 An analysis of motorcycle accidents in Cheshire indicate a shift in the balance of casualties from urban to rural roads, along with an increase in the proportion of casualties who are killed or seriously injured.

3.15 Motorcyclist Casualties by Month
Motorcyclist casualties are highly seasonal. Fatalities and overall casualties peak during the Spring and Summer months, which probably reflects increased riding, and hence accident exposure, during this period.

Table 12: Motorcyclist Casualties by Month: 1999
Month	Killed	KSI	All
January	20	299	1,473
February	21	349	1,438
March	43	531	2,042
April	51	570	2,072
May	64	740	2,499
June	54	677	2,459
July	72	914	2,876
August	71	698	2,552
September	45	655	2,470
October	51	598	2,420
November	39	548	2,364
December	16	329	1,527

3.16 Casualties by Time and Day
Fridays have the highest number of motorcyclist casualties, followed by the other days of the week which each have a similar level. The number of weekend casualties is slightly lower. During the week, motorcyclist casualties peak between the hours of 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm and between 7:00 am and 9:00 am. At the weekend, powered two wheeler casualties are more evenly spread throughout the day, with a slight peak between midday and 6:00 pm. This is similar to the pattern for all road users.

3.17 Road Surface Condition
Motorcyclists, being two-wheelers, are more susceptible to the condition of the road surface. They are more likely to skid on both dry and wet road surfaces, and in particular are put at greater risk by mud or oil on the road. Snow and ice seems to affect car drivers just as much as motorcyclists, although motorcycle use probably drops significantly when ice and snow make riding very difficult and unpleasant.

Table 13: Percentage of Vehicles Skidding by Road Surface Condition: 1999
Road user Group	Dry	Wet or Flood	Snow or Ice	Mud or Oil	All Conditions
TWMV	17.9	26.2	53.6	66.4	20.6
Cars	10.4	18.6	49.5	52.3	14.3
All Riders & Drivers	10.2	18.3	48.3	52.0	13.9

3.18 Motorcyclist Casualties by Manoeuvre
As with all road user groups (except pedestrians) most motorcycle accidents are listed as “Going ahead other”. However, 13% of motorcycle accidents are listed as “Going ahead on a bend”, compared to only 8% of cars. Similarly, 12% occur when the rider is overtaking another vehicle, compared to only 4% of car accidents during this manoeuvre. This may reflect motorcyclists’ greater vulnerability during these manoeuvres.

Table 14: Motorcycle Accidents by Manoeuvre: 1999
	Number
Going ahead other	15,980
Overtaking a moving or stationary vehicle	3,801
Going ahead on a bend	3,582
Turning or waiting to turn right	1,189
Waiting to go ahead	660
Turning or waiting to turn left	697
Stopping	541
Changing lane	311
Starting	184
Parked	60
U-Turning	64
Reversing	19
All known manoeuvres*	27,122
* Includes manoeuvre not reported

3.19 Almost one in five (18%) motorcycle accidents involve the motorcyclist losing control, without any other road user being involved. The equivalent figure for cars is 14%. However, not all loss of control accidents are due to rider error; deceptive bends, poor road surfaces and avoiding other road users also are a factor in a proportion of these accidents.

3.20 The Booth report, published in 1989, assessed nearly 10,000 motorcycle accidents in the Metropolitan Police area. It concluded that nearly two-thirds (62%) of motorcycle accidents were primarily caused by the other road user. Half of the accidents were caused by car drivers, and 10% by pedestrians. The report found that two-thirds of motorcycle accidents where the driver was at fault were due to the driver failing to anticipate the action of the motorcyclist.

3.21 In contrast, the analysis of motorcycle accidents in rural Cheshire found that 67% of motorcycle accidents were due to rider error, with losing control on a bend and overtaking featuring strongly.

3.22 Motorcyclists and Drink Driving
There is little difference in the rate of breath test failures between motorcycle riders and car drivers.

Table 15: Breath Tests: 1999
Road User	No. Involved in RTA	No. Tested (%)	No. Failed	Fails as % of Involved	Fails as % of Tested
Car Drivers	329,866	175,916 (53%)	6,669	2%	3.8%
TWMV Riders	27,122	12,970 (48%)	443	1.6%	3.4%

3.23 However, a lower proportion of motorcyclist fatalities (9%) were over the drink drive limit than car driver fatalities (16%). And the percentage of TWMV rider fatalities who were over the drink drive limit has fallen considerably more than the equivalent figure for drivers.

Table 16: Percentage of TWMV Riders and Motor Vehicle Driver Fatalities Over the Legal Blood Alcohol Limit: GB 1988-1999
Year
1988	23	20
1989	21	18
1990	19	18
1991	17	20
1992	26	17
1993	15	20
1994	18	22
1995	15	21
1996	13	23
1997	13	19
1998	11	17
1999 Provisional figures	9	20

3.24 Motorcyclist Injury Patterns
Various studies have assessed the types and frequencies of injuries to motorcyclists. Legs are the most commonly injured, followed by the head and arms.

Table 17: Proportion of Injuries to Motorcyclists
Site of Injury	% of all Injuries
Legs	39%
Head	23%
Arms	19%
Shoulder/Thorax	10%
Abdomen/Pelvis	7%
Neck	1%

3.25 Around 80% of motorcyclist casualties suffer leg injuries, 56% suffer injuries to the arms and 48% to the head. However, head injuries are usually more severe than those to the legs or arms, and account for 80% of motorcyclist fatalities. Injuries to the thorax and pelvis are infrequent, but usually severe.

Table 18: Proportion of Motorcyclists by Injury
Site of Injury	% of Casualties
Legs	80%
Head	48%
Arms	56%

3.26 Head Injuries
Head injuries account for 80% of motorcyclist fatalities and can include cuts and abrasions, concussion, severe facial injuries, skull fractures and injuries to the brain. They appear to be more likely in crashes in which the motorcyclist collides with another vehicle at right angles and the head impacts against the vehicle, or in cases where the rider slides along the ground and strikes their head on a kerb or piece of roadside furniture. Skull fractures may occur at speeds of 30 km/h or more, but brain injuries may happen at much lower speeds, from 11 km/h upwards.

3.27 Leg Injuries
Leg injuries account for 60% of serious injuries and may include cuts and abrasions, fractures, broken bones and dislocated joints. The knee and lower leg appear to be the most vulnerable. Leg injuries are most frequently caused in accidents which involve the motorcyclist striking the side of a vehicle at an oblique angle, or a vehicle striking the motorcyclist side-on. The injuries are caused by a direct impact or the leg being trapped and crushed between the vehicles.

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