Analysing the Government’s motorcycle casualty figures

New data shows that as the number of miles ridden by motorcyclists climbed in 2021 following the Covid pandemic, sadly so did the number of riders killed.

The Government figures show 310 motorcyclists were killed on Great Britain’s roads during 2021.

This is compared to 285 in 2020.

However, with fewer lockdown periods, 2.53 billion miles were ridden by motorcyclists in 2021, compared to 2.16 billion in 2020.

This actually means that the fatality rate per mile ridden was lower in 2021 than in 2020.

Looking longer term, the 2021 fatality figure is the second lowest on record (other than 2020).

By way of comparison, there were 585 deaths in 2004 – and 336 in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.

The figures also show that in 2021, there were a total of 15,838 casualties, among which 5,264 were seriously injured.

Other trends worth noting
The stats also highlight a number of interesting trends.

Between 2016 and 2021, 92% of motorcycle casualties were male and 8% female.

Meanwhile in the same time period, most motorcycle fatalities occurred in two vehicle collisions involving a car (769 of 1,953).

However, unsurprisingly, the highest proportion of casualties that are fatal occur in two vehicle collisions involving an HGV. This figure stands at 8.8% – compared to 1.2% of riders involved in a two vehicle collision involving a car.

Finally, 67% of motorcycle fatalities occurred on rural roads between 2016 and 2021.

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