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Motorcycle safety
Keeping motorcyclists safe. Whether
you drive a car, truck or motorcycle, help keep motorcyclists safe on the roads.
Motorcycle safety
According to the 2007 Land Transport New Zealand (LTNZ)
road safety issues report for Auckland City (based on reported crash data by the
New Zealand Police and trends for the 2002 - 2006 period), vulnerable road users
continue to be over-represented in reported local road crashes in the city.
Due to the recent increase in motorcyclist numbers, and the
fact that riders and pillion passengers are more susceptible to severe injury in
a collision, they have been included in the vulnerable road user grouping[i].
Although motorcyclist injuries represent only seven percent of all injuries in
Auckland City, they make up 12 percent of fatal and serious injuries[ii].
There were 395 motorcyclist injury crashes on local roads
in Auckland City for the 2002 - 2006 periods. The most common crash type was
crossing or turning, 59 percent were at intersections, 25 percent were at night
and 17 percent were in the wet [ii].
Nationally motorcycling fatalities dropped from a high of
20 percent of all fatalities in 1988 to just six percent in 2003. Since then
there has been a significant increase in motorcycle registrations and this has
reversed the downward trend. In 2006, motorcyclists accounted for 9.5 percent of
road fatalities in New Zealand[ii].
Motorcycling injuries are spread fairly evenly between age
groups 15 - 44 years old, with a peak in the 20 - 24 age groups. Eighty one
percent of motorcyclists injured were male[ii]. Ethnicity statistics from the LTNZ Crash Analysis System (CAS) show that
approximately 70 percent of motorcyclists (aged 15 - 44 for the 2002 - 2006
periods) injured are European. Approximately 6 percent are NZ Maori, 10 percent
Asian and 14 percent are unknown or other ethnicities.
[i]
Land Transport New Zealand (LTNZ) road safety issues report for Auckland City
2006
[ii]
Land Transport New Zealand (LTNZ) road safety issues report for Auckland City
2007
For motorcyclists: safest riding habits
- Make sure other drivers can see you at all times
- a white or bright coloured helmet is recommended
- use of a high-visibility vest or strips is recommended
- as a motorcyclist you cannot control other drivers, make it YOUR
responsibility to be seen
- Read the road well ahead of you for hazards and follow the '2 second
rule'
- Always be prepared to give way to hazards
- If you ride faster or slower that the flow of traffic you become a
hazard
- Your machine should always be to WOF level
- Ride with your lights on day or night
- Do not ride in a vehicles 'blind spot'
- Do not ride up in between the vehicles at intersections, the risk does
not justify the time saved
- Do not weave between vehicles on multi-lane roads, it is illegal and
also very dangerous. Remain within your own lane and practice safe following
distances
- Use your mirrors frequently
- Scooters and motorcycles can use council green bus lanes
- If you have had no formal instruction how to ride, do a refresher course to
improve your skills. The rideforever
website has information on course providers.
Intersections:
Most motorcycle crashes happen in Auckland city at
intersections.
- Continuously scan ahead for intersection traffic
- Always ensure that traffic waiting to turn at the intersection ahead
can clearly see you by ensuring that your following distance (behind the vehicle
in front) and your lateral offset (either side of the vehicle in front) are such
that you and your motorcycle stay out of the blind spot generated by the vehicle
in front
- When approaching intersections you should aim to remain continuously
clearly visible to any/all turning traffic. This sometimes requires that you
adjust your approach position depending on whether traffic is waiting to turn
from the left or the right
For drivers: best driving habits for sharing the
road with motorcyclists
- Take extra care when moving through or turning at intersections as
motorcyclists can be hard to see on the road
- Ask yourself what is behind the vehicle you are planning to pull out
after
- Re-check for vehicles as the vehicle passes and pull out slowly,
allowing time to react to small vehicles you may not have seen
- Always check the road carefully for motorcyclists before moving out of a
driveway or parking space
- Extend your vision and look well ahead of you when driving. Check for
motorcyclists, other road users and hazards
- Keep your eyes moving, use your mirrors frequently to see the position
of other traffic around you and look to the sides and behind every few seconds
- Create a safety cushion around your whole vehicle by making sure there
is a safe distance in all directions between you and other vehicles and
potential hazards
- Always signal if you intend to change your position on the road
- Learn to ignore distractions and concentrate on driving when you're
behind the wheel
Updated April 2008
