Karen Cole from MCIA explains why, ‘now more than ever’ PTWs must not be forgotten on the quest to decarbonise the UK’s transport systems.
It saddens me that over the 22 years that I have worked in rider safety we have reached a point where powered two wheeler (PTW) riders, have somehow become marginalised.
Once considered on a par with pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders when it comes to their vulnerability, PTW riders more often than not, no longer feature in this user group when it comes to local and national policy development which I feel is a huge mistake and missed opportunity.
Nationally, the recent changes to the Highway Code, for example, did little to improve the safety of PTW riders. At the same time, cyclists and other vulnerable road users benefited from a raft of changes designed to improve their safety.
More locally, in its Vision Zero Action Plan progress report, TfL on the one hand acknowledged PTWs with the welcome ambition to change road culture, reduce risky behaviours and encourage tolerance, but on the other, proclaimed the need for a policy to ‘identify opportunities to encourage mode shift from motorcycles to safer, active, and sustainable modes’.
Active travel is not a quick fix, and is not suitable for every person or the solution for every journey. A comprehensive strategy to make London’s roads safer for riders, allowing our sector to contribute fully to a cleaner and greener London would have been far more productive.
There is worldwide acceptance of the Safe System Approach, defined as requiring a systematic, multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to address the safety requirements of all users. Yet even experienced road safety practitioners either forget, or choose to ignore PTW riders, who are conspicuous by their absence in reports such as Safe Roads for All. This document calls for Government to ‘direct a Safe and Healthy Mobility Strategy and Action Plan for Roads’ yet does not even mention powered two wheelers.
Whilst the Government’s emphasis is righty on achieving net zero, those choosing to travel actively or purchase an electric car have become the policy priority. However, this is far too simplistic and falls short of the holistic approach needed. There is no one size fits all, only the ‘right vehicle for the right journey’, something MCIA has been advocating for several years and the foundation upon which our recently launched sector Action Plan was based.
DfT has itself acknowledged the ‘enormous opportunities’ that powered light vehicles present in its Decarbonising Transport, A Better Greener Britain document and so to suggest otherwise or exclude PTWs from policy making shows a clear disconnect.
Government has rightly committed to zero emission powered light vehicles and wishes to ensure their benefits are fully realised, so it’s necessarily the case that PTW riders should also benefit from interventions designed to ensure their safety.
Our safety record, though historically poor, is much improved. In the early 2000s around 600 riders died each year and approximately 28,000 riders were injured in some way. 15 years on around 345 riders sadly still lose their lives each year and an average of around 17,500 riders are injured. These figures seem to have plateaued over the last 10 years. This is most likely due to the lack of consideration for PTW riders within road safety overall.
Policy makers continue to use these statistics as a reason to ignore the opportunities our vehicles present them, either by way of improved air quality, congestion or all-round environmental impact compared with other modes of transport.
A step-change in attitude and thinking is critical if zero emission powered light vehicles are to be fully realised for the future of our urban and sub urban settings. The starting point must therefore be what our future transport ecosystems look like and not the ones of today or yesteryear.
This will mean improving access to powered light vehicles by making it easier for people to ride them by removing onerous licensing barriers, for example, and focusing not only on today’s riders and the need for their improved safety, but the riders of tomorrow too.
Powered light vehicles will form a far larger part of the transport mix as we head towards a phase out date for our sector (provisionally 2035) with sales of all PTWs already rising massively year on year (9% total market growth and 146% growth in volumes of electric PTWs in 2021). Therefore, the safe use of powered light vehicles can and must form part of the solution to our transport challenges and rider safety must be an integral part of any future plans, locally and nationally.
Now, more than ever, must we ensure PTWs aren’t forgotten or excluded on our ambitious quest to decarbonise the UK’s transport systems for the benefits they bring could be reaped for a lifetime.
Karen Cole, Director of Road Safety & Rider Training, MCIA
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Motorcyclists drive well above the speed limit, often speeding well over the limit, overtake and undertake other vehicles. The accident rates increase in accordance with the CC rating!!
RICHARD WALKER, london
--6
PTWs make a major contribution to reducing congestion in parts of the continent and could make a bigger contribution in the UK if they were given more facilities. When I rented a flat in Florence I was amazed when the taxi taking us there, near the city centre, drew up in a street completely lined with parked PTWs on each side with occasional gaps for pedestrians (and taxi passengers) to get through. Many streets near the River Arno were similarly occupied by parked PTWs, yet where do we find adequate street parking for PTWs in the UK? This is an opportunity to reduce congestion missed.
Robert Bolt, St Albans
+6