CRASH DATA – 2010

Crash Data from the Centre For Road Safety, Transport For NSW for  2010 – FIRST GLANCE

Powered 2 wheel vehicle crashes (Motorcycle, Scooter ) in 2010 in NSW

There was a total of 2,721 crashes involving a powered 2 wheeled vehicle (P2WV) in 2010.

These crashes included 322 rear end crashes.  Over half (169) of these crashes involved the bike running into the back of the other vehicle

70% (1,905) crashes were on roads with a speed limit of up to 60 kph and only 12% (315) were on roads with a speed limit of 100-110 kph.  It’s the commuter roads and residential roads that we are having trouble with.

62% (1,687) of the crashes had the rider (us) at fault

So let’s just look at those crashes where we were at fault.

64% (1,077) of our at-fault crashes were single vehicle collisions. It was simply our own mistake. And it was not the wet weather – only 122 occurred when it was raining.

75% (804) of our single vehicle collision were “rollover” crashes, many at intersections.   The category “rollover” includes a range of factors.  In some of these crashes the bike fell over at the end of a skid and in other crashes the bike fell over and then slid.  Plus, the question of whether the front tyre or the rear tyre lost traction cannot be answered.

These crash statistics repeat every year – the message is clear

Motorcycle riders can reduce the overall motorcycle crash rate by nearly 30% if we simply stop falling off due to our own mistakes – no one else is involved.

We can reduce our crash rate by another 6% if we simply stop running into the back of other vehicles.

THAT’S MORE THAN ONE THIRD THE CRASHES EACH YEAR

How do you stop falling off?   Start by learning how to brake properly and learning how to corner properly.  Practice the basics of –

– look where you are going,

– brake BEFORE the corner, and

– remember it’s a public road – not a racetrack.

The RMS messages we see on the big variable signs say “Slow Down On Corners” – what they should say is “Slow Down BEFORE the Corner”

How do you stop running into the back of other vehicles?    This is really easy.

Don’t ride so close to the other vehicles.  Position your bike so you can see what is ahead of the other vehicles.

Two good ideas from the learner and provisional rider guides are to:

– maintain the “3 second gap” following distance and

– look ahead of the vehicles in front so you have a clear 5 seconds of forward vision.

Every ride is a chance to learn new things about managing traffic and staying in control when you are on your own.

Survive The Ride