Decline in Bike Deaths

I was reading a mazgazine & with the IAM event taking place tomorrow I thought I'd share the information.

You probably didn't hear this in mainstream media, but there was recent good news for biker riders in the UK.

Bike related deaths were down in 2008 compared to the previous year. The figures given is that 493 riders died in 2008 compared to 588 in 2007 a decrease of 16% according to Department of Transport figure (DT). Why was this you ask?

Was it due to the rubbish summer in 2008 fewer rider were out on Britains roads or is the DT going to take some credit.

They asked a DT spokes person who said "We were encouraged by the figures showing that the number of motorcyclist fatalities on Britains roads fell... However, motorcylists are still the single most vunerable group on Britains roads today (Tell us something new) accounting for 1% of all road traffic, but for 19% of all those killed on the roads. We know there is still more we need to do to reduce this terrible toll & that is why we will be continuing our work on the THINK driver campaign as well as the Sharp safety helmet rating system.

The poor summer of 208 played a part, bike sales fell overall between 11-15%, trackdays are proving more popular, as well as improving our skills on the road. Riders are taking up advanced riding lessons with IAM & Police backed Bikesafe.

Lets see if we can reduce the rate next year.

Ride safe people hope to see you Saturday at the IAM in Trowbridge [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Seems like we are all trying a bit harder and hopefully this trend will continue. I also think the biking population is ageing and with the increase in age hopefully an increase in awareness and care will also come.

age doesn't mean less risk though - isn't it the case that a high proportion of deaths are middle aged bikers returning after a spell away from riding - hopping on the latest sportsbikes which are far more powerful than the bikes they rode before?

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Originally Posted by Dabz

age doesn't mean less risk though - isn't it the case that a high proportion of deaths are middle aged bikers returning after a spell away from riding - hopping on the latest sportsbikes which are far more powerful than the bikes they rode before?

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Very true its all about the Skill of the rider & knowing your limitations.

Yes, us having better skills helps, but a major plug into new car drivers being aware of bikes would help. I have driven a car for 20 years, never been in an accident and was only aware of how safe you need to be by taking my bike test. I notice alot more, about the bad car drivers that are out there. Very little attention is paid towards vulnerable road users. Maybe they should ride a horse or a bike for an hour, before taking their test.

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Originally Posted by Karl

Yes, us having better skills helps, but a major plug into new car drivers being aware of bikes would help. I have driven a car for 20 years, never been in an accident and was only aware of how safe you need to be by taking my bike test. I notice alot more, about the bad car drivers that are out there. Very little attention is paid towards vulnerable road users. Maybe they should ride a horse or a bike for an hour, before taking their test.

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I couldn't agree more talking to young people who have just taken car tests there does seem to be a lack of training in dealing with vulnerable road users. I have ridden bikes and driven cars for just over 30 years and I have ridden horses since I was 5 years old and one point I have noticed is its nearly always bikes that slow down and show the most respect for horse riders where as cars often belt by or even push through against on coming traffic. This may be because of an understanding by bikers of those equally vulnerable but I believe also bikers on thw whole are far more courteous.

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Originally Posted by Roll_on

[quote author=Karl link=1252056855/0#4 date=1252182741]Yes, us having better skills helps, but a major plug into new car drivers being aware of bikes would help. I have driven a car for 20 years, never been in an accident and was only aware of how safe you need to be by taking my bike test. I notice alot more, about the bad car drivers that are out there. Very little attention is paid towards vulnerable road users. Maybe they should ride a horse or a bike for an hour, before taking their test.

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I couldn't agree more talking to young people who have just taken car tests there does seem to be a lack of training in dealing with vulnerable road users. I have ridden bikes and driven cars for just over 30 years and I have ridden horses since I was 5 years old and one point I have noticed is its nearly always bikes that slow down and show the most respect for horse riders where as cars often belt by or even push through against on coming traffic. This may be because of an understanding by bikers of those equally vulnerable but I believe also bikers on thw whole are far more courteous.[/quote]

well said! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Well said indeed. I always try and pass horses wide and slow.

I remember doing a classic bike run a few years ago and we met a young lady with a pony going the other way who didn't like the look of the bikes. About 40 of us stopped in the lane, all killed the engines and then when the pony still wasn't keen to walk past I got off and we walked him past everyone to the junction she wanted to get to and they went off quite happily. I then walked back to my bike and everyone waited until given the start your engines signal before firing up and heading off again.

We have done that a few times over the years so don't be surprised if we meet any on the 5 Horses run if we do the same.

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