16 January, 2011

Motorcyclists practice safety in numbers

It’s easy to spot a safety conscious motorcyclist and Horizons’ road safety coordinator Alane Nilsen hopes to see even more on our roads following the weekend’s Summer Series events at Manfeild.

Around 200 motorcyclists participated in a track day on Saturday where they honed their skills and enjoyed the opportunity to race in a safe and controlled environment under the guidance of the Pacific Motorcycle Club.

Mrs Nilsen praised the club for helping riders gain the skills required to ride safely on the road and described the event as a great way to encourage racing in an appropriate context.

“Motorcyclists are overrepresented and often under protected when it comes to fatal and injury crashes on our roads. Events like this are a great way for riders to safely blow off steam, learn more about safe riding practices and discuss the merits of Hi Viz gear,” she said.

As well as taking to riders about their riding gear and habits, Mrs Nilsen also handed out entry packs to the first 100 riders which included information about drink driving, cornering advice, earplugs to reduce road noise and water to rehydrate.

As part of the Be Safe, Be Seen initiative, a Hi Viz motorcycle jacket was also awarded to novice rider Jamie Pedersen for showing great improvement throughout the day and Hi Viz vests presented to two riders who correctly answered questions on safety gear and practices.

The next Summer Series motorcycle event will be held February 11/12th in Taupo.

The following information has been taken from the “Ministry of Transport Motorcycle-crash-fact-sheet 2010.”

• Motorcyclists face a number of risk factors that do not affect car drivers. The main risk factors are decreased stability and a much lower level of occupant protection than is provided by a car. In addition, a motorcycle is less visible to other road users than a car or a truck. These factors together give motor cycling a higher level of risk per kilometre travelled than other modes of transport.

• Several studies have compared the risk of death and injury for a motorcyclist to that of a car driver.

• The New Zealand Household Travel Survey indicates that, on average, the risk of being involved in a fatal or injury crash is 20 times higher for a motorcyclist than for a car driver over the same distance travelled (2005–2009 data).

• A rider without a helmet is three times more likely to suffer severe brain damage than a rider with a helmet in the same type of crash, (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Motorcycle Helmet Use Laws fact sheet. April 2004. www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/New-fact-sheet03/MotorcycleHelmet.pdf)

• For more serious crashes, the motorcyclist is more likely to have the primary responsibility for the crash. The motorcycle rider has the primary responsibility for nearly 70 percent of fatal motorcycle crashes, but the comparable figure for minor injury crashes is 50 percent.

• Of motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes, 18 percent are affected by alcohol/drugs; 32 percent are travelling too fast for the conditions; and 41 percent are travelling too fast for the conditions or affected by alcohol/drugs, or both.

• The rider losing control of the vehicle is a major feature in motorcycle crashes, with over one-third of head-on crashes resulting from a rider losing control of the motorcycle.

• The peak times for motorcycle crashes are between 12 noon and 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and between 4pm and 8pm Monday to Friday. Nearly two-thirds of all motorcycle injury accidents occur on urban (restricted speed) roads, but nearly three quarters of fatal crashes are on the open road.

• Learner licence holders make up a greater percentage of motorcyclists involved in crashes (21 percent) than overall drivers, including motorcyclists (7 percent). Despite the rule that learner and restricted licence holders are not permitted to ride motorcycles with an engine capacity greater than 250cc, 15 percent of riders on learner licences, and 26 percent of riders on restricted licences, are riding bikes of over 250cc at the time of their crashes.

ENDS

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