Young Drivers Run Over More Than A Third Of Pedestrians

The massive reduction in fatalities within the UK's two most vulnerable age groups is the key finding of Younger and older road users, published by the IAM as the latest in its series of Motoring Facts 2010/2011.

Fatalities have fallen 33 per cent in the 16-19 year old bracket, 25 per cent for drivers in their 70s, and 22 per cent for drivers aged 80 and over since 2008.

Neil Greig, IAM Director of Policy and Research, said: "While these reductions are really positive, we must continue to support these drivers, who are among the most vulnerable on our roads. The fatality rate continues to be highest for 16-19-year olds, followed by the over 80s, but for very different reasons."

"The greatest risk to the oldest age group on the road is as a pedestrian. In comparison, younger people are much more at risk as a driver or as a passenger in a car driven by a young driver. Pedestrian risk increases from two per cent of those injured aged between 20 and 50, to around nine per cent aged 80 and over. The greatest risk to pedestrians is car drivers under 30 who are involved in more than a third of pedestrian fatalities."

During their teens and twenties, the risk of young drivers being killed halves every five years as they gain more driving experience. Mr Greig continued: "This lends weight to the IAM's call for post-test training to be made compulsory in a form similar to that of the system in countries like Austria, where reductions of up to 30 per cent in young male driver fatalities have been achieved. If new drivers can be kept alive during this most dangerous stage of their driving career, the risk of them becoming another killed or seriously injured statistic reduces significantly."

Despite widespread beliefs to the contrary, older drivers are no more likely to be involved in an injury crash than middle aged drivers, and are much less at risk than drivers aged under 30. However, the risk of being killed as a car occupant increases from about 0.6 per cent of those injured aged between 30 and 50, to over three per cent aged 80 and over. This is generally a result of age-related frailty; older people are more likely to be injured in a crash and are less likely to recover. Between 20 and 50 years of age, the rate of deaths declines for all road users except for motorcyclists which remains almost constant over this period.

"Young male drivers continue to be the most high-risk group, and are more than twice as likely to be involved in a fatal or serious injury crash as young female drivers. A renewed focus on young drivers, which provides them with opportunities to gain further experience in a controlled and safe environment is of utmost importance", said Mr Greig.

Vehicles don't lose control; drivers do.

Driver and rider error or reaction are behind the top three causes of fatal and serious crashes, research from the IAM reveals.

Licensed to skill: Contributory factors in accidents, presents the analysis of five years worth of accident data, recorded by the police between 2005 and 2009.

Factors including 'failed to look properly' 'loss of control' and 'poor turn or manoeuvre', accounted for 65.3 per cent of fatal, 61.8 per cent of serious and 68.6 per cent of slight accidents. Injudicious action - illegal or unwise judgements - such as exceeding the speed limit, following too close, or making an illegal turn, was the second biggest factor, accounting for another 31.4 per cent of accidents. Alcohol was a relatively minor factor, listed in only ten per cent of fatal accidents.
Behaviour or inexperience came a close third, being a factor in 28.0 per cent of accidents. In contrast, physical circumstances such as road environment, factors affecting vision, and vehicle defects are listed as issues in very few accidents.

'Travelling too fast for the conditions' accounts for more fatal accidents than 'exceeding speed limit', which represent fourth and fifth places. Driving too fast isn't necessarily just a case of a legal requirement - you could be driving too fast for the conditions, without breaking any official speed limits at all.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: "What is obvious from the top three rankings is that many accidents could be prevented by drivers simply changing their behaviour, as well as gaining more experience. That so many crashes are caused simply by the driver failing to look is shocking. On the positive side, there is plenty that drivers can do to reduce their risk of being involved in an accident.

"Having a driving licence doesn't necessarily mean that drivers have the skills they need to be safe. Professional drivers, like HGV drivers, participate in continuous professional development, improving their driving skills throughout their careers to reduce their accident rates, insurance costs and to increase their fuel efficiency - why is life-saving training not expected of those who drive for personal reasons?"

"The evidence is there. Accidents could be easily reduced by improving driver skills and lives could be saved - especially those of young drivers. The IAM calls on the government to introduce post-test training, to support young drivers through the most dangerous part of their driving career, and to improve their skills for the rest of their lives."

Top contributory factors were:

1. Driver/rider error or reaction
2. Injudicious action
3. Behaviour or inexperience
4. Road environment
5. Pedestrian only (casualty or uninjured)
6. Impairment or distraction
7. Vision affected
8. Special codes
9. Vehicle defects

Definitioins

• Fatal injury/casualty = injury causes death within 30 days of the accident.

• Serious injury/casualty = injury does not cause death within 30 days of the accident and either results in the casualty being detained in hospital as an inpatient, or any of the following injuries: fractures, concussion, internal injuries, crushings, severe cuts and lacerations, severe general shock requiring treatment, or any injury which causes death more than 30 days after the accident.

• Slight injury/casualty = injury of a minor character such as a sprain (including whiplash neck injury), bruise or cut which are not judged to be severe, or slight shock requiring roadside attention. Injuries not requiring medical treatment are included.

IAM is the UK's largest independent road safety charity, dedicated to improving standards and safety in driving, motorcycle riding and cycling. The commercial division of the IAM operates through its occupational driver training company IAM Drive & Survive. The IAM has more than 100,000 members in the UK and Ireland. It is best known for the advanced driving test and the advanced driving, motorcycling and cycling courses. Its policy and research division offers advice and expertise on road safety.

Bikes in bus lanes are better - fact

Transport for London’s Motorcycle Policy Unit carried out a study modelling typical powered two wheeler journeys on main routes into London. Published in April 2010 the study suoght to determine whether there are likely to be journey time savings and consequent emission reductions generated by permitting powered two wheelers to use bus lanes.

Six routes into Central London where motorcycles are permitted were identified; the Metropolitan Police assigned riders and drivers to survey the routes with one powered two wheeler travelling in bus lanes where available and a powered two wheeler and a car travelling in general traffic lanes. These surveys all started at the same time with one route being surveyed per day. Averages were then taken of all of the journey times by mode and this showed that:

• Powered two wheelers using bus lanes where available took an average of 2 minutes 29 seconds per kilometre;
• Powered two wheelers using only general traffic lanes took an average of 2 minutes 46 seconds per kilometre.
• Cars using only general traffic lanes took an average of 3 minutes 55 seconds per kilometre.

The distances travelled by mode and the average journey speeds recorded were used to estimate the emissions and fuel consumption for a sample of ‘small’, ‘medium’ and ‘large’ vehicles (cars and motorcycles) on those routes, using the Department for Transport’s ‘Road Vehicle Emissions Database’. Averages were then taken of all of the emissions and fuel consumptions by vehicle ‘size’, mode, fuel type and lane travelled in and this showed that, over a comparable route length:

• Powered two wheelers using bus lanes where available emit an average ofbetween 0.5% and 9.0% less Carbon Dioxide than powered two wheelers usinggeneral traffic lanes only;

• Powered two wheelers using bus lanes where available emit an average of between 0.5% and 10.0% less Oxides of Nitrogen than powered two wheelers using general traffic lanes only;
  

• Powered two wheelers using bus lanes where available consume an average of between 0.4% and 9.0% less fuel than powered two wheelers using general trafficlanes only;
  

• Powered two wheelers using bus lanes where available emit an average of between 100% and 500% less Carbon Dioxide than petrol cars using general trafficlanes only;
  

• Powered two wheelers using bus lanes where available emit an average of between 50% and 550% less Oxides of Nitrogen than petrol cars using general traffic lanes only;
  

• Powered two wheelers using bus lanes where available consume an average of between 100% and 500% less fuel than petrol cars using general traffic lanes only.
  

So, environmentally speaking, there is a massive benefit in allowing powered two wheelers to use bus lanes. Read the full report at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/pt-emissions-study.pdf

Road safety: EU road fatalities fall by 11% in 2010

The European Commission has published new statistics showing that EU road fatalities decreased by 11% in 2010 (reports ACEM, the European motorcycle manufacturers' association). However, country by country statistics (see table below), show that the number of deaths still varies greatly across the EU.

Most countries achieved double-digit reductions in the number of road deaths over the past year, the best ones being Luxembourg (33%), Malta (29%) Sweden (26%) and Slovakia (26%). However there is still a lot of work to be done.

Road fatalities by country (per million inhabitants)

Member State / Fatalities by population / Evolution of fatalities

	2001	2010	2009 - 2010	2001 - 2010
Latvija	236	97	-14.00%	-61.00%
Lietuva	202	90	-19.00%	-58.00%
Spain	136	54	-9.00%	-55.00%
Sweden	66	28	-26.00%	-54.00%
Luxembourg	159	64	-33.00%	-54.00%
Slovenia	114	53	-25.00%	-53.00%
Ireland	107	45	-16.00%	-51.00%
France	134	62	-7.00%	-51.00%
Slovenia	140	68	-19.00%	-50.00%
Portugal	163	79	1.00%	-49.00%
Germany	85	45	-12.00%	-48.00%
United Kingdom	61	31	-18.00%	-47.00%
The Netherlands	62	32	-17.00%	-46.00%
Belgium	145	76	-12.00%	-44.00%
Italy	125	66	-6.00%	-44.00%
EU	112	62	-11.00%	-43.00%
Austria	119	66	-13.00%	-42.00%
Estonia	146	88	20.00%	-41.00%
Hungary	121	74	-10.00%	-40.00%
Czech Republic	130	76	-11.00%	-40.00%
Cyprus	140	75	-15.00%	-39.00%
Denmark	81	48	-13.00%	-39.00%
Finland	84	51	-1.00%	-36.00%
Greece	172	116	-10.00%	-30.00%
Poland	145	102	-15.00%	-29.00%
Bulgaria	124	102	-14.00%	-23.00%
Malta	41	36	-29.00%	-6.00%
Romania	109	111	-15.00%	-3.00%

The table shows progress under the 2001–10 road safety action plan, with EU-wide figures and a breakdown per country. It includes the most recent figures for 2010. EU road safety action plan In July 2010 the Commission adopted challenging plans to reduce the number of road deaths on Europe's roads by half in the next 10 years. Initiatives proposed in the "European Road Safety Policy Orientations 2011-2020" range from setting higher standards for vehicle safety, to improving the training of road users, and increasing the enforcement of road rules.

The Commission is working closely with Member States to implement this programme. Road safety action programme 2011–20: The Road Safety action programme sets out a mix of initiatives focussing on making improvements to vehicles, infrastructure and road users' behaviour.

There are seven strategic objectives:
• Improved safety measures for trucks and cars
• Building safer roads
•Developing intelligent vehicles
• Strengthening licensing and training
•Better enforcement
• Targeting injuries
• A new focus on motorcyclists

The European Commission intends to propose the following measures for powered two wheelers:

• to introduce a number of functional vehicle safety measures like e.g. mandatory fitting of Advanced Brake Systems, Automatic Headlamp On and updated anti-tampering measures (so speed contols cannot be removed) for certain categories of PTWs

• to develop technical standards on protective equipment such as clothing, and to study the feasibility of equipping motorcycles with an airbag and/or including the airbag in the protective clothing,

• to extend EU legislation on road worthiness testing/inspections to motorbikes and other powered two wheelers (which does not exist at the moment)

Source: European Commission

More Powered Two-Wheelers would ease congestion

10% more motorcycles used for commuting equal to 40% less traffic jams, concludes a study conducted by Transport & Mobility Leuven

If 10% of car drivers would give up their car for a motorcycle or a scooter, traffic congestion would be reduced by 40%, according to a study performed in one of Belgium’s most congested routes, typical of Europe's densest urban areas.

As the European Commission is seeking to promote a new culture of mobility aiming at reducing emissions and improving quality of life, part of the solution could come from Powered Two-Wheelers. While the recently published White Paper on Transport struggles to strike a balance between individual needs for mobility and the ambitious targets making transport more efficient, the study finds out that if 25% of all commuting trips were made on a PTW, congestion would be even a bad memory.

The study performed by Transport & Mobility Leuven and the University of Leuven, shows that the inclusion of motorized two-wheelers is definitely the most realistic, feasible and affordable answer to effectively address the problem of congestion and its negative effects on the daily lives of European commuters. Motorcycles and scooters represent a strong untapped potential to improve mobility, promising to deliver results that other options - such as cycling or public transport – most of the time are unable to match.

The investigation commissioned by FEBIAC, the Belgian car, motorcycle and bicycle distributors' association focuses on a case study, conducted on the section Leuven-Brussels on the E40 highway during rush hour, based on the traffic statistics of a regular work day during the month of May 2011. The results showed that "if on this trip and during this peak period, 10% of drivers swap their car against a motorcycle or scooter, this has obvious consequences on the extent of the traffic jam."

By extrapolating these observations to the entire road network, the study makes indicative conclusions: "15,000 hours lost in traffic per day could be avoided in Belgium, equivalent to a total time savings of approximately 350,000 € per day."

Shorter traffic jams that are reabsorbed faster have an environmental advantage too. However, no matter how important the benefits of this modal shift, road safety must be kept in mind. Appropriate motorcycle rider training and a safe behaviour adopted by all road users is a priority to reduce risk. The increased number of motorized two-wheelers on the roads has generated increased attention on the part of motorists accustomed to seeing more bikers, thus being more aware of their presence. This can only promote a greater mutual respect and understanding on the road.

Jacques Compagne, ACEM Secretary General: “The European Mobility Week was a good opportunity to look at solutions for our congestion problems. FEBIAC’s study demonstrates that Powered Two Wheelers are an extraordinary resource for easing jams, making traffic more fluid and generally improving the quality of life in our cities. Policy makers can learn a good deal from this paper.”

The full results of the study are available upon request.

-end-

ACEM, the Motorcycle Industry in Europe, is the professional body representing the interests and combined skills of 13 powered two wheelers (PTWs) manufacturers producing more than 30 brands, and 15 national associations out of 13 European countries, guaranteeing jobs to over 150.000 people. The aggregated turnover of the PTW sector (manufacturing, plus upstream and downstream activities) amounted to Euro 34 billion in 2006. Manufacturers alone account for Euro 7 billion. The members of ACEM account for 90% of the production and up to 80% of the European powered two-wheeler market. ACEM also represents main manufacturers of tricycles and quadricycles.
More information at www.acem.eu

FEBIAC is the Belgian Automobile and Cycle Association. For more than a century FEBIAC has been representing manufacturers and importers of road transport modes (cars, trucks, motorcycle, bicycle) and their suppliers in Belgium, at national, European and international levels. www.febiac.be

Ride to Work Day shows congestion busting benefits of scooters

Escalating fuel prices do not seem to have made British roads any less congested – according to a recent report from satellite navigation experts TomTom, seven of Europe's 20 most congested cities are located in the UK.

As a result scooters are enjoying a resurgence of popularity in Britain, with new registrations up by 16% compared to the same period last year.

In order to demonstrate the benefits of two-wheeled transport, Peugeot Scooters arranged a scooter and 'chauffeur' to collect a local councillor from the market town of Witney and transport him to a meeting in central Oxford, ranked 13th most congested city in Europe. This was one of many such events organised as part of International Ride to Work Day, when motorbike and scooter riders around the world show that life would be better if more people rode motorcycles and scooters every day, with time savings, less congestion and reduced travel costs.

Motorists would normally allow an hour to make the 10 mile journey into Oxford, particularly if they needed to find parking at their destination. The bus journey is scheduled to take 40 minutes, not including waiting times.

"We had a hassle free run into Oxford that lasted less than 25 minutes door-to-door, way quicker than either car or bus, and in plenty of time for the 9.30 start of my conference” says Duncan. “With free all-day motorcycle parking available nearby I can see why people are switching to scooters and motorcycles."

“Leaving Oxford just after 5 o'clock, we encountered stop-start traffic on the A40 on the return trip, but the scooter just glided past all the cars and lorries. It felt perfectly safe” he continues. “Even the heavy rain showers didn't affect us, with the scooter's bodywork deflecting the rain and leaving me almost totally dry. Not only was it much quicker than car or bus, but riding the scooter meant I wasn't stuck in a traffic jam wondering how long I'd be sitting there.”

End of an affair

Over the past three years sales of new sports motorcycles fell by 40%. Dan Sager, from transport think-tank Two Wheels Better, investigates whether this marks the end of the British love affair with performance super bikes.
Since the first 'superbike' was unveiled a quarter of a century ago, manufacturers have shaved off weight and improved performance so that it's now possible to buy a street legal machine weighing less than 200kg and pumping out nearly 200bhp, complete with ABS and traction control as standard. Kawasaki's latest incarnation of the ZX-10R caused a sensation when it was launched this year, just as the BMW S1000RR did in 2010 and Yamaha's R1 the year before. Sports motorcycles have never looked so exciting, yet registrations of new super-sport machines dropped from 23,403 in 2008 to just 14,256 last year. Of course, this could be a temporary slip caused by the credit crunch and global recession. After all, these bikes are a luxury, not practical every day transport.
However, if that were true, then sales of other 'luxury' styles would have decreased by a similar amount. Yet both the custom and sports-touring sectors fell by 25% - that's a big drop but nowhere near as substantial as the 40% decline in sports bike sales. Total motorcycle registrations (not including mopeds) stood at 115,000 in 2008, but by 2010 the figure was 81,000, a fall of 30% (or 34,000 machines in real terms). If you remove sports bikes from the statistics, the figure is nearer 25% so it's clear the sales of these high performance machines are falling much faster than the rest of the market.
Some people might argue that modern sports motorcycles are simply too powerful for Britain's congested road network, but there is another very telling figure within the statistics that suggests otherwise. So far we have been talking about styles of motorcycle, but, in this case, size matters too. While sales of machines in almost every capacity class have fallen by somewhere in the region of 30% over the past three years, registrations of bikes over 1000cc have dropped by less than 10%. Last year one in five new motorcycles sold in the UK was over 1000cc, which proves that riders are not intimidated by powerful machines. It also shows that customers are not necessarily opting for smaller capacity machines that are cheaper to buy, insure and service.
It may not be the end of an affair, but it's clear that British motorcyclists are gradually losing their passion for sports bikes and although they still like their machines to be big and powerful, they also like them naked!.
Read the full feature in Used Bike Guide April/May 2011

BMF Launches ‘Rider Active’ Campaigning Initiative

In a new initiative, ‘Rider Active’, designed to involve all motorcyclists in tackling common issues adversely affecting their motorcycling safety and enjoyment, the BMF has today launched an on-line survey to gather their concerns and from those topics highlighted, construct an action plan to deal with them.

The ‘Rider Active’ initiative follows an impromptu ‘What’s Bugging You?’ survey of visitors to the BMF’s stand at last year’s International Motorcycle Show and triggered the need for a wider survey of rider’s concerns.

The survey captured such a diverse range of concerns that the BMF now wants to break them down into priority order by surveying not only its 80,000 members though direct mailing, but also, through the on-line survey, all interested motorcyclists.

In this way say the BMF, it will not be a top-down project but will involve the BMF’s regional network of representatives too. After collecting riders concerns, guidance and briefings focused on local findings will be available enabling those riders, along with local BMF Regional Representatives, to take action themselves along with any national action taken by the BMF.

Over the year, four major issues will be focussed on as determined by the survey, all of them designed to gather grass roots concerns and involve local riders.

Launched today, the Rider Active survey will also be carried in the BMF’s re-launched Motorcycle Rider magazine published later this month.

Chris Hodder, the BMF’s Government Relations Executive said: “This represents a new way of working for the BMF, empowering local riders and putting the resources of the BMF in their hands. In this way we will be addressing the issues that they really care about.”

For further information and to take part in the survey, riders should log on to:

http://www.bmf.co.uk/pages/bmf_main_pages.php?main_page_id=999

OK COMMUTER

UK traffic levels rose by 8% between 1999 to 2009 and the average vehicle speed during the peak morning rush hour on locally managed 'A' roads is now just 25 mph. So why aren't hard pressed commuters turning to motorcycles in their thousands to solve their transport woes? Come to think of it, why aren't more motorcycle owners riding to work?

Not only does Great Britain have one of the lowest motorcycle ownership rates in Europe, (only the Republic of Ireland has a fewer bike owners), but we don't seem to use them very much. Although one in every 33 vehicles is a motorcycle, they account for just 1% of traffic.

That's becuas the average annual mileage for private cars is 12,000, but for a motorcycle it's less than 4,000. However, it's not only the distance travelled by bike that is lower than cars, but also the frequency. Figures released by the Department for Transport show that the number of weekly trips made by bike has decreased from 11 in the mid 1980's to eight by 2008. During the same period the average distance driven per week, and the amount of time spent doing it, have both increased. Add into that escalating fuel prices (over £6 for a gallon of unleaded is being reported in Jan 2011) and you would expect more people using two wheelers to save time and money, whereas in fact people are riding fewer miles less often.

As proved by the recent winter, the coldest in years, British riders are at the mercy of the weather. Riding in the UK is highly seasonal, April through to September being the peak months. A wet summer, like 2009 when UK rainfall was 40% above average, reduces the limited riding season still further. Since most households with a bike also own at least one car, the vast majority of Britain's 1.3 million motorcyclists can always leave the bike parked on rainy days and drive to work instead.

This is a great shame, because we are completely reliant on cars in this country, with seven out of ten people outside London travelling to work by car. Even a modest increase in motorcycle use could make a significant impact in reducing congestion, but how can existing owners be encouraged to use their bikes more often? Opening up bus lanes to bikes nationwide would certanly be an incentive and would remove much of the risk that is inherent when filtering through queuing traffic. Meanwhile the motorcycle industry needs to consider how it sells and markets new machines. While supersport bikes offer unrivalled levels of performance, they are not ideal transport for short distance commuting. So how do we make pratical middleweight all-rounder motorcycles more atractive?

Look at latest safety stats

Once again the statistics confound popular beliefs. More motorcycles = more accidents? Not according to the Dft’s ‘Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2009: Annual Report’ which shows that while motorcycle traffic went up by 2 per cent in 2009 (compared to 2008) , motorcycle casualty rates actually fell by a third.

In fact motorcycle traffic was 35 per cent higher than the 1994-98 average, a greater traffic increase than for any other road user type. Yet in percentage terms, the killed and seriously injured (KSI) rate has fallen by 33% against the 1994 -1998 base line average.

Not only did casualties fall in percentage terms, they also fell in real terms too, by 4 per cent (from 21,550 in 2008 to 20,703 in 2009). This figure is 14 per cent lower than the 1994-98 average. Comparing 2009 to 2008, there were 21 fewer fatalities, 206 fewer serious injuries and 620 fewer slight injuries.

Another interesting fact that has emerged from the report is that, for all classes of road casualties, ‘failed to look properly’ is still the single biggest cause of all accidents (reported in 38% of all accidents in 2009). More that one out of every three casulaties were caused by road users failing to look properly - think about that the next time you approach a junction!

Flash, bang what a picture.

Well, apparently, that's it for speed cameras in Oxfordshire.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if road safety was as simple as some people believe? Lots of nice ‘facts’. A clear, easy solution to save lives. Even better if we could enforce that solution automatically by machine.

Living dangerously?

Why does motorcycling have such a bad reputation for safety? One in four people associate it with the word “danger”. Geordie comedian and keen biker Ross Noble sums up a typical attitude;

“People go: Oh motorbikes, you're going to kill yourself on that. And that's a bit like going up to a chef and saying: Hmm, gas ovens. A lot of people kill themselves with gas ovens. You'd go. Yeah but loads of people don't. Loads of people make a nice dinner and shut the f**k up."

Statistically people are more vulnerable sitting on a motorcycle than sitting in a car; figures from the Department for Transport show that motorcyclists are 57 times more likely to be injured in serious crashes than car drivers. On average 500 riders are killed every year on Britain's roads, accounting for 20% of all road user deaths, and a further 5,500 are seriously injured.

However, to put those figures in perspective, there are 1.6 million motorcyclists on Britain's roads, so it's fair to say that 1,594,000 motorcyclists were neither killed nor seriously injured last year. Better still, the overall casualty rate for motorcycles has fallen over the past decade and is currently around 18% lower than it was ten years ago.

While motorcyclists are more vulnerable to injury than car drivers/passengers, that doesn't mean it is 'dangerous' to ride a motorcycle per se.

"Kill your speed"

After 'danger' the word most commonly associated with motorcycling by the public is 'speed'. Politicians, in particular, often respond to serious road accidents by imposing tougher speed limits – hence many A-roads now have a maximum limit of 50mph, reduced from 60mph. While this is a swift and cheap fix, it won't necessarily make any difference. Exceeding the speed limit was a contributory factor in just 5% of bike accidents in the UK in 2008. In fact the two most common factors contributing to motorcycle accidents in 2008 were failure to look properly and loss of control, which accounted for 30% of all incidents. Or to put it another way, riders are three times more likely to crash as a result of poor observation than by riding ‘too fast’.

Andy Ibbott of the California Superbike School is highly experienced in teaching motorcyclists to stay in control; “Over the years it has become clear that all riders, on all kinds of machines, can ride the straights really well. Most of the corners they carve tend to present a problem of some description of other”. Accident investigators confirm that the majority of riders who lose control on a corner (left hand bends are the worst) are travelling within the speed limit. Slower does not necessarily mean safer.

Responsible adults?

Interestingly, 46% of motorcycles are owned by people aged between 35 and 49, significantly older than the most accident-prone group of drivers, who are aged 17-24. In 2008 reckless riding was a factor in less than 10% of accidents and motorcyclists are half as likely to fail a breathalyser test as other road users.

So if motorcyclists are responsible adults who aren't riding recklessly beyond the speed limit, why are they so over-represented in the accident statistics?

Junctions. The most dangerous places for motorcyclists. During 2008 51% of serious injuries to riders occurred in collisions at junctions. It's easy to blame inattentive motorists, the SMIDSY (Sorry Mate I Didn't See You) but it's more complex than that. Sometimes vision can be obscured by traffic, road furniture or vegitation; the road position of the bike can make it hard to spot; filtering in congested traffic creates all sorts of issues.

Halving the number of collisions at junctions could reduce motorcycle casualties by 25% which would mean approximately 125 less deaths every year. That's a big difference.

But how can this be achieved? One option is a concerted campaign that is backed by the government, road safety professionals and pressure groups, motoring organisations (AA + RAC), motorcycle media and rider groups, alerting the public to the dangers of collisions at junctions and simple tactics for avouding these. Could the solution really be that simple? There's only one way to find out ....

From an article originally published in Used Bike Guide

Information design agency creates straight-talking road safety ads

Information design agency Freeman Christie (FC) has worked with Oxfordshire County Council’s road safety team to develop a series of ads specifically targeted at motorcyclists. The ads will be seen in town centres and at bike shows around the county in the coming year.
Agency principal Mark McArthur-Christie said “As most of us are riders (R1100GS, Ural Dalesman and CBR600) this was a dream project. And because the Council is promoting a proactive training message, we were delighted to get involved. We wanted to avoid all the usual road safety cliches and, instead, come up with ads that will get riders interested. There’s no point in preaching at people or throwing gory images at them, you need to get the message over with a bit of wit and raise a wry smile. When people ‘get’ the joke, they get the message too.”
Sarah Gniadek-Pitt, Road Safety Officer with OCC, said “We’d not worked with FC before, but we wanted to have people writing and designing the ads who understood riders. We spent a lot of time briefing the team on what causes motorcycle crashes in Oxfordshire and they’ve developed the ads from there. We’re really pleased with what they’ve come up with.”
The ads are based around a series of messages promoting training and safe cornering

Where's all our parking gone?

Motorcyclists in Oxford have been left circling the City looking for a space after the County Council suspended vital bike bays on Broad Street without letting them know about the alternatives.
Parking bay suspended with just five days’ notice; the bay was suspended on 6th September to provide a bus set-down point for gas main maintenance in Magdalen Street East. It remains suspended until 23rd September. The County Council gave only five day’s notice and has not told riders about alternative motorcycle parking.
Motorcyclists left in the dark; Mark McArthur-Christie, a motorcyclist with the Oxford Area Group of Advanced Motorists said, “The motorcycle bay in Broad Street is the largest in Oxford. We accept the need for its suspension, but it has suddenly deprived us of more than a quarter of central Oxford’s dedicated bike parking and left riders not knowing where to park. It took us a special request to find out that riders can park in every carpark in Oxford except Westgate and Gloucester Green free and without a permit. The Council doesn’t currently publicise this. We think they should.”
“Because they simply don’t know about this, motorcyclists are at risk of parking fines as they struggle to find somewhere legal to park. At least one rider has received a parking ticket for using the suspended bay in Broad Street. In the circumstances this is a bit harsh and his fine should be waived.”
Motorcycle parking already inadequate; Dan Sager, whose PR agency represents many of the UK ’s motorcycle and scooter companies, added, “ Oxford is acutely short of motorcycle parking and parking information. Most of Oxford’s dedicated bays are hard to find unless you know the city very well, and some are far too small. The County Council provides no direction signs to motorcycle parking, and its website gives no information at all about where motorcyclists can park.”
“Motorcycles are part of Oxfordshire’s Local Transport Plan. It’s a real shame that some motorcyclists avoid Oxford because they simply don’t know where they can park legally. We don’t ask for much, but we’d really welcome County Council just telling us what’s going on and publicising the parking that IS there.”

Scooter Security Survey

Government statistics show that mopeds and scooters are at much higher risk of theft than large capacity motorcycles. Acumen, the UK's only independent manufacturer of electronic security for 2-wheelers, is asking scooter riders to help develop new anti-theft devices by taking a couple of minutes to answer some quick questions. You won't need to give any contact details so you won't receive any junk mail as a result of participating, but you might just help to reduce scooter theft!

Click Here to take survey

Get thee behind me

Amidst all of the fuss in the media over the motorcyclist who was jailed for riding at 122mph with his 14-year old son riding pillion there has been much talk with scant regard for the facts. On BBC Radio 2’s flagship Jeremy Vine programme on Monday 2nd March listeners were invited to discuss whether children should be allowed to ride on the back of motorcycles. The fact that the 14-year old in question had emerged unscathed seemed to have eluded many contributors.

So just how dangerous is it for children to ride pillion? FACT. Children under 16 accounted for less than one percent of motorcycle KSI [killed or seriously injured] casualties in 2007. The overall road traffic picture is similar; 1.5% of all children killed or seriously injured on our roads in the same year were riding motorcycles (DfT). To put that in context, child pedestrians were 67% of the total child KSI victims on UK roads.

According the mortality statistics, which make depressing reading, especially where children are concerned, pedestrians constituted 46% of road fatalities, followed by car occupants (30%) and cyclists (11%). Fewer children died riding motorcycles in 2005 than on watercraft and riding on agricultural machinery (DH4 No.30).

Government encourages us to walk and cycle and school children are rewarded for using healthy transport. However, parents should be far more concerned about the dangers their children face crossing the road or riding their bicycles than about the occasional trip on the back of a motorcycle.

Right van man launches but motorcycle industry fails to get on its bike

The Motorcycle Industry Association (MCI) states on its website that one of it three aims is "developing a position of strength derived from consumer and government demands for reduced emissions, congestion and costs". However, search their website and you'll find precious little information about the environment. This is a serious omission because (a) the industry claims environmental benefits for bikes and (b) anti-motorcycle groups (like the London Cycling Campaign and some local councils) attack motorcycling as damaging to the environment. Which is precisely why TWB published "How green s my machine" in December 2008.

The automotive industry has graped the significance of green credentials. On 26 February the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) launched a new guide - Right Van Man - which aims to give individual van buyers and drivers top tips on van choice and use to help cut running costs and CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles. This is claimed to be the first stage in increasing public awareness on the issues that affect van CO2 emissions. Produced jointly with the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) and the Department for Transport, Environment this campaign is effectively endorsed by the Government. That's a result.

The motorcycle industry (as represented by the MCI) needs to act quickly to demonstrate its green credentials otherwise the only green motorcycles will be the lime green Kawasaki racing machines!

Airbag jackets - are safety claims over inflated?

"Dozens of motorcyclists' lives could be saved every year if air bag jackets were made compulsory, accident and emergency doctors have said" according to Radio 1's Newsbeat on 13th February 2009.

Just six days later Motorcycle News reported that; "The A&E doctor [quoted in the Newsbeat report] admitted having virtually no experience of the jackets, which inflate in a crash, and no evidence they work". He claims that he was quoted out of context.

Evidence is certainly scarce when it comes to airbag jackets. By law, all impact protectors for motorcyclists must be independently tested and approved to the relevant European standards (EN1621-1 for limbs/chest and EN1621-2 for the back).

In spite of "CE-approved" logos appearing on most manufacturers' websites, none of the airbag jackets advertised make any reference to their airbags meeting these standards (although some may contain CE-approved armour in addition to the airbag).

Interestingly the following statement appears on the website of a company manufacturing airbag jackets for horse riders; "The .... air jacket offers additional protection, but we recommend it to be worn with traditional protective riding wear such as the EM13158 (sic) body protector." Apart from the mis-print (the standard for equestrian protectors is actually EN13158) it seems that manufacturer advises riders to wear their airbag jacket in addition to body armour. Not exactly a vote of confidence.

Before making claims about the protective qualities of airbags fitted to motorcycle clothing, first manufacturers need to demonstrate that these products meet the basic legal requirements for impact protectors, particularly as there is a substantial price premium for this technology. Until then, their claims are little more than hot air.

UK Motorcycle Market Overview (2008)

Registrations of new motorcycles fell by 3.4% in 2008 (source: http://www.mcia.co.uk/). However the devil is in the detail and closer scrutiny reveals that sales of mopeds (powered two wheelers >50cc) and scooters remained unchanged, sales of new motorcycles fell by 6%. There has also been a shift towards smaller capacity machines – according to British Dealer New five out of the ten top selling models were 125cc machines (i.e. ‘learner’ bikes). In terms of the market mix, 2/3rd of the 139,725 new PTWs registered in 2008 were motorcycles – the remaining 1/3rd were scooters or mopeds. In terms of brand share, Honda continues to dominate, although with Yamaha and Suzuki hot on its heels. These three Japanese manufacturers account for nearly two out of every five new machines registered. However, just like the Japanese in the 1960’s, the Chinese are beginning to make inroads with smaller capacity PTWs. In December 2008 the best selling moped, and scooter were both Chinese brands (Baotian and Wuyang respectively).
Sales of scooters and mopeds held firm compared to a 6% fall in motorcycle sales during 2008.
So how does this compare to the car market? Sales in 2008 fell by 11.3% (source: http://www.smmt.co.uk/), which is a more dramatic decrease than for PTWs. However, diesel cars accounted for a record 43.6% share of the market and that is over three times the share recorded in 2000. Meanwhile the mini segment saw the only growth in 2008 and the market share for superminis rose to 33.4%.
So both the PTW and car markets experienced similar fluctuations - an overall decrease in sales but an increase in bemand for smaller 'utility' vehicles.

Cleaner and greener by 2015 say European manufacturers

ACEM (the European motorcycle manufacturers association) announced several strategic measures concerning safety and the environment at its 5th Annual Conference, held on December 1st, 2008.

Firstly, ACEMs is confident that it will meet its target to fit 50% of all new PTWs (Powered Two Wheelers, i.e. motorcycles and scooters) with advanced braking systems by 2010, and in addition has pledged that by 2015, three quarters of PTWs sold will be offered with advanced braking systems as an option.

On the environmental front, ACEM has proposed a 'road map' with a the aim of parity with car emissions by 2015. Initially PTW's would achieve a Euro 4 stage in 2012, (entailing a 25% reduction over tailpipe emissions compared to the current Euro 3 standard), attaining the Euro 5 stage three years later by realising a further 25% reduction in tailpipe emissions, thus reaching the goal of parity with Euro 5 petrol passenger cars.

This would be a significant achievement as Euro standards for PTWs were not introduced until 1999, a full seven years after their implementation for passenger cars. Furthermore, as a recent study by the French environment agency proved that in an urban environment Euro 3 PTW's are 'greener' that Euro 4 cars (because they reach their destination twice as quickly and thus spend less real time with the engine running), Euro 5 motorcycles and scooters will be substantially more environmentally friendly than cars.

Fuel for thought!