Road Casualties in Great Britain. Main Results: 2006 are now available from the Department for Transport website.
There were 599 motorcycle user fatalities in 2006, 5 per cent higher than during 2005. The number of killed or seriously injured remained at about the same level compared to 2005 (down less than 1 per cent from 6,508 in 2005 to 6,484 in 2006). The all motorcycle user casualties figure for 2006 of 23,326 is 6 per cent less than in 2005.
Bike fatalities up in 2006
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HowardQ
- World Champion
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- Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
Yes it is 599 too many, but the stats themselves are the usual complete bollocks.
Thing is even a blind person can see there's a massive increase in the number of people out on bikes, probably increased 500% or more over last few years.
Also there is a similar massive increase in the use of bikes. Very many people who previously only used them for fun at weekends, now commute on them all year round. You never used to see dozens of sportsbikes on the daily commute (Even Dukes and Harleys !).
You see them now.
Therefore with so many more bikes now in use, bike deaths have probably been cut by at least 50% in real comparative terms.
They just like to make it sound worse, so they can find some reason to hammer us again, fit speed restrictors or some other crap.
Thing is even a blind person can see there's a massive increase in the number of people out on bikes, probably increased 500% or more over last few years.
Also there is a similar massive increase in the use of bikes. Very many people who previously only used them for fun at weekends, now commute on them all year round. You never used to see dozens of sportsbikes on the daily commute (Even Dukes and Harleys !).
You see them now.
Therefore with so many more bikes now in use, bike deaths have probably been cut by at least 50% in real comparative terms.
They just like to make it sound worse, so they can find some reason to hammer us again, fit speed restrictors or some other crap.
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falcomunky
- SuperBike Racer
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- Location: NEUK
Ive already had my 'nanny-state' rant fer today in another thread, but 'facts' like this really boil my piss! 
The media seems to have cast aside their search for the truth in favour of attention-grabbing headlines and soundbites in order to increase viewers/readers/punters.
Like DR says; There are deffo more bikers out there than a few years back and more of em are riding their steeds more regularily.
There should be a 'However, motorcycle sales rose by XXX% and therefore blah blah blah' underneath that piece of report.
Anybody know how to find out the overall bike sales figures, (if there are any), compared to previous years?
Obviously, private sales would be difficult to quantify unless the DVLA could release owner-changing figures as well?
The media seems to have cast aside their search for the truth in favour of attention-grabbing headlines and soundbites in order to increase viewers/readers/punters.
Like DR says; There are deffo more bikers out there than a few years back and more of em are riding their steeds more regularily.
There should be a 'However, motorcycle sales rose by XXX% and therefore blah blah blah' underneath that piece of report.
Anybody know how to find out the overall bike sales figures, (if there are any), compared to previous years?
Obviously, private sales would be difficult to quantify unless the DVLA could release owner-changing figures as well?
Two is the magic number... ;)
Yeah without knowing the comparative number of bikes on the roads and the number of miles ridden, these figures are meaningless.
Now I don't want anyone to die from riding a motorcycle or for any other reason but an assumption that we must approach zero fatalities carries a cost which I deem to great.
Our God-given human spirit is designed for adventure and to cope with risk. A bland world that attempts to remove all risk (#) is, for most of us, deeply unsatisfying
(# ... The inevitable result of our Heath & Safety culture and the fear of parents to let their kids do the things we used to do as kids).
If we insist on no risk, we insist on no excitement.
The fact that I may become one of the 599 is for me a risk worth taking to make life more fulfilling.
Now that doesn't mean that I don't want unnecessary risks removed. Please enforce the mobile phone ban, do whatever you can to make drivers take the time to observe us, give us decent road surfaces to ride on, allow us to ride in bus lanes, improve roadside furniture to be less damaging to us etc etc - but we cannot eliminate all risk without sanitising our lives completely.
Are 599 fatalities a reasonable balance between risk and fulfilment for the entire biking community? Who knows, we'll all judge differently - but the view that ONLY zero deaths is acceptable is one that I cannot accept.
Now I don't want anyone to die from riding a motorcycle or for any other reason but an assumption that we must approach zero fatalities carries a cost which I deem to great.
Our God-given human spirit is designed for adventure and to cope with risk. A bland world that attempts to remove all risk (#) is, for most of us, deeply unsatisfying
(# ... The inevitable result of our Heath & Safety culture and the fear of parents to let their kids do the things we used to do as kids).
If we insist on no risk, we insist on no excitement.
The fact that I may become one of the 599 is for me a risk worth taking to make life more fulfilling.
Now that doesn't mean that I don't want unnecessary risks removed. Please enforce the mobile phone ban, do whatever you can to make drivers take the time to observe us, give us decent road surfaces to ride on, allow us to ride in bus lanes, improve roadside furniture to be less damaging to us etc etc - but we cannot eliminate all risk without sanitising our lives completely.
Are 599 fatalities a reasonable balance between risk and fulfilment for the entire biking community? Who knows, we'll all judge differently - but the view that ONLY zero deaths is acceptable is one that I cannot accept.
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HowardQ
- World Champion
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On a slightly different tack, we need to look at who is actually being killed. Sorry to re-use a word from earlier and say that we've all read the "bollocks" about everything being down to born again bikers who don't realise how much faster bikes have become since they gave up 15 or 20 years earlier. If you delve deeper into the statistics, there are many serious accidents and fatalities amongst the new younger scooter and 125 riders, (male and female). Perhaps the government should look at some issues in this area and not just the most obvious areas, like tinking all kids are riding like nutters.
Am I the only one who thinks the scooters restricted to 30mph are actually much more dangerous than ones that will do 45 or 50mph. The poor kids end up riding in the gutter as lorries and cars can't be bothered to slow down and wait to overtake them properly. You regularly see them almost get clobbered part way round a bend on a hill as they are so slow, nobody expects to come accross a vehicle going that "slowly" and are just not expecting it. I believe this is also why many more cyclists are now being killed and injured, (a fact, sorry Gio), because they are not going at a speed that people expect to find, (also down to the fact that many cyclists ride like complete tossers and ignore all the "silly" rules of the road like Traffic Signals, no entry signs etc.). We've all been there, accellerate quickly onto a roundabout at rush hour, only to suddenly find a licra loony wobbling about in the middle of the road!
One of the reasons bikes get involved in accidents is exactly the the same in reverse, i.e. car drivers don't realise that we are going quicker than many cars.
Perhaps it's just me but I reckon that 50% of car drivers usually drive at 45 mph everywhere except on motorways, that includes 30 limits and A roads, I've talked to some of em who admit it and they explain how it makes them feel comfortable??!!
Most of this group don't enjoy driving, find it a chore and just do it to get around.
Just when they meet somebody going significantly faster or slower, they can't come to terms with it.
Anybody agree or do you just thing I'm talkin bollocks as well.
Am I the only one who thinks the scooters restricted to 30mph are actually much more dangerous than ones that will do 45 or 50mph. The poor kids end up riding in the gutter as lorries and cars can't be bothered to slow down and wait to overtake them properly. You regularly see them almost get clobbered part way round a bend on a hill as they are so slow, nobody expects to come accross a vehicle going that "slowly" and are just not expecting it. I believe this is also why many more cyclists are now being killed and injured, (a fact, sorry Gio), because they are not going at a speed that people expect to find, (also down to the fact that many cyclists ride like complete tossers and ignore all the "silly" rules of the road like Traffic Signals, no entry signs etc.). We've all been there, accellerate quickly onto a roundabout at rush hour, only to suddenly find a licra loony wobbling about in the middle of the road!
One of the reasons bikes get involved in accidents is exactly the the same in reverse, i.e. car drivers don't realise that we are going quicker than many cars.
Perhaps it's just me but I reckon that 50% of car drivers usually drive at 45 mph everywhere except on motorways, that includes 30 limits and A roads, I've talked to some of em who admit it and they explain how it makes them feel comfortable??!!
Most of this group don't enjoy driving, find it a chore and just do it to get around.
Just when they meet somebody going significantly faster or slower, they can't come to terms with it.
Anybody agree or do you just thing I'm talkin bollocks as well.
No need to apologise Howard , I agree there's a lot of cyclists who jump lights (mostly male I'd add) yet its female cyclists who are getting killed and mostly by lorry drivers (inside London that is) I know of 3 who've died in the last week.HowardQ wrote:On a slightly different tack, we need to look at who is actually being killed. Sorry to re-use a word from earlier and say that we've all read the "bollocks" about everything being down to born again bikers who don't realise how much faster bikes have become since they gave up 15 or 20 years earlier. If you delve deeper into the statistics, there are many serious accidents and fatalities amongst the new younger scooter and 125 riders, (male and female). Perhaps the government should look at some issues in this area and not just the most obvious areas, like tinking all kids are riding like nutters.
Am I the only one who thinks the scooters restricted to 30mph are actually much more dangerous than ones that will do 45 or 50mph. The poor kids end up riding in the gutter as lorries and cars can't be bothered to slow down and wait to overtake them properly. You regularly see them almost get clobbered part way round a bend on a hill as they are so slow, nobody expects to come accross a vehicle going that "slowly" and are just not expecting it. I believe this is also why many more cyclists are now being killed and injured, (a fact, sorry Gio), because they are not going at a speed that people expect to find, (also down to the fact that many cyclists ride like complete tossers and ignore all the "silly" rules of the road like Traffic Signals, no entry signs etc.). We've all been there, accellerate quickly onto a roundabout at rush hour, only to suddenly find a licra loony wobbling about in the middle of the road!
One of the reasons bikes get involved in accidents is exactly the the same in reverse, i.e. car drivers don't realise that we are going quicker than many cars.
Perhaps it's just me but I reckon that 50% of car drivers usually drive at 45 mph everywhere except on motorways, that includes 30 limits and A roads, I've talked to some of em who admit it and they explain how it makes them feel comfortable??!!
Most of this group don't enjoy driving, find it a chore and just do it to get around.
Just when they meet somebody going significantly faster or slower, they can't come to terms with it.
Anybody agree or do you just thing I'm talkin bollocks as well.
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HowardQ
- World Champion
- Posts: 3921
- Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:20 pm
- Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
That was my first point Gio, the ones who drive slowly at the side of the road are often the ones who get taken out rather than the "super fit licra loonies" who jump the lights, the lorry drivers in particular just don't see em, in fact they miss most things close up on their inside unless they have the new extra mirrors on, even worse with left hookers on Brit roads.
Never good to filter down the inside of a truck, especially on foreign plates.
Never good to filter down the inside of a truck, especially on foreign plates.