Statistics For Motorbike Accidents in the UK
Did you know that a motorcyclist is 45 times more likely to be killed in a road accident than a car driver? Or that 80% of accidents are caused by another road user’s negligence?
Here are some more interesting UK statistics to know about motorbike accidents:
- On average there are about 600 bikers a year killed on our roads in the UK and 7000 serious injuries
- As a motorcycle rider, you are 40 times more likely to be killed than car drivers or passengers and you are more likely to be killed on a motorbike than any other means of transport
- A bike rider is 45 times more likely to be killed in a road accident than a car driver
- 80% of motorbike accidents are caused by someone else’s negligence
- It’s not just other road users who cause problems for bikers – local authorities have a legal duty to maintain roads, but highway defects, debris, potholes, and diesel spillages can cause real problems
- A motorcycle accident head injury is the main cause of death and serious injuries
- The most common type of head injury is a closed head injury where upon impact there is a violent movement of the head which causes the brain to move around in the skull, causing damage upon impact together with stretching and squeezing the brain tissue and blood vessels
- Other common types of head injuries to bike riders are from shearing forces which involve a rapid acceleration and deceleration of the head (similar to whiplash injuries in a motor vehicle) – however, it appears that the most common type of injury to bike riders is to the lower limbs, such as a leg injury
- In a study in the USA, the most common diagnoses of all motorcycle-related emergency department visits were:
- fractures (27%)
- contusions (16.3%)
- sprains and strains (13.7%)
- open wounds (12.1%)
- superficial injuries (10.7%)
Visit our dedicated page to find out more about fatal motorbike accidents.
