A new report has outlined several “smart and straightforward measures” that can be taken to reduce the “unacceptable” number of motorcycle casualties that happen each year.
Published by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), the headline of the report is a call for Governments to make Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) mandatory on all new motorcycles.
Among its other recommendations is for ‘much more attention’ to be placed on delivery riders who now face a ‘perfect storm’ of risk factors, including distraction from mobile phone-based apps, pressure to make deliveries quickly and while unwell, a lack of protective equipment and little oversight of vehicle condition.
The ETSC says motorcyclists “have been less of a focus in road safety” during recent years.
Jenny Carson, manager of ETSC’s Road Safety Performance Index programme, said: “There are several smart and straightforward measures that can be taken to reduce the unacceptable number of deaths every year. Some are obvious… Others require a bit of innovation.
“We also need to pay close attention to growing trends such as the number of young people, mostly men, now delivering hot food in our cities on motorcycles, working under time pressure on poorly maintained vehicles, while being distracted by app-based tools.”
The report finds that 3,891 people died while riding a motorcycle or moped in the EU in 2021, around 90% of whom were men. That figure is 25% lower than a decade earlier but, over the same period, other road deaths fell by a third.
According to the authors, changes to EU licensing requirements in 2013 may have contributed to the lower number of deaths by creating a series of stages to acquire a full licence for the largest and most powerful motorcycles.
The minimum recommended age to ride a moped in the EU is now 16 years but, in several countries, it is still possible to ride at the age of 14 years, without passing a practical test.
ETSC says a practical test should be mandatory and all countries should apply the recommended minimum age of 16 years or higher.
The report’s other recommendations include:
- Mandatory technical inspections should be required for all motorcycles and mopeds, as well as a focus on checking that vehicles haven’t been modified for higher speeds
- Enforcement of helmet-wearing should be improved
- Manufacturers of cars, vans and lorries should improve their detection of motorcyclists through safety technologies such as automated emergency braking (AEB)
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