Motorcycles: Accidents
(asked on 12th April 2016) - View Source
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the causes of the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured in (a) London and (b) England outside London.
The Department published a factsheet on motorcyclists in June 2015. The factsheet can be found at the link below:
In addition, the tables below give the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured in a) London and b) England excluding London by the contributory factor recorded by the police for the accident.
Number of killed or seriously injured motorcyclists (KSIs) in reported road accidents by contributory factor allocated, top 10: London 2014
Contributory Factor reported in accident | KSI casualties |
Failed to look properly | 323 |
Poor turn or manoeuvre | 194 |
Careless, reckless or in a hurry | 184 |
Loss of control | 119 |
Failed to judge other person’s path or speed | 112 |
Exceeding speed limit | 53 |
Sudden braking | 45 |
Travelling too fast for conditions | 38 |
Disobeyed 'Give Way' or 'Stop' sign or markings | 31 |
Following too close | 26 |
Number of killed or seriously injured motorcyclists (KSIs) in reported road accidents by contributory factor allocated, top 10: England (excluding London), 2014
Contributory Factor reported in accident | KSI casualties |
Failed to look properly | 1,846 |
Failed to judge other person’s path or speed | 996 |
Poor turn or manoeuvre | 940 |
Loss of control | 856 |
Careless, reckless or in a hurry | 738 |
Exceeding speed limit | 405 |
Learner or inexperienced driver/rider | 386 |
Travelling too fast for conditions | 348 |
Sudden braking | 302 |
Slippery road (due to weather) | 296 |
The contributory factors system has been developed to provide some insight into why and how road accidents occur. Contributory factors are designed to give the key actions and failures that led directly to the actual impact to aid investigation of how accidents might be prevented. When police officers attend the scene of an accident, they are able to select up to six factors that they believe contributed to the accident. Please note that this does not assign blame for the accident to any specific road user, but they give an indication of what the officer thought happened.
Motorcyclist safety has been a longstanding priority for the Government’s THINK! road safety campaign. Previous campaigns have included ‘THINK! BIKER’, which encourages drivers to look out for bikes at junctions. This year, THINK! are running a social media led motorcycle safety campaign encouraging riders to undertake further training, wear protective clothing and reduce their speed on rural roads. This is being complemented by wider social media activity, encouraging drivers to look out for bikes.