- Joined
- Jul 18, 2009
- Messages
- 8,796
- Reaction score
- 121
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Chittering Valley, West Aust.
Motorbike injuries soar in past decade
BY CHRISTOPHER KNAUS, POLICE REPORTER
01 Apr, 2011 05:43 AMThe number of motorcyclists suffering life-threatening injuries in road accidents has increased markedly over the past decade, a new report shows.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare will issue a report into road accidents today, which finds that the rate at which motorcyclists suffered life-threatening injuries rose by 7.4 per cent from mid-2000 to mid-2008.
Male motorcyclists aged between 45 to 64 years now account for half of all life-threatening crashes in that age bracket, a large increase from mid-2000, when they accounted for just 30 per cent of life-threatening injuries.
The institute's national injury surveillance team's Professor James Harrison said the results had not been surprising to researchers, given the increasing popularity of motorbikes in Australia.
In the ACT, the number of registered motorcycles and scooters has nearly doubled over the past decade. In 2002, there were 6500 motorcycles and motor scooters, increasing to 8700 in January 2007, 10,860 in January 2009, and 11,173 in June 2010.
''Vehicle design for motor cars and so on has gone a long way towards providing really effective protection to occupants,'' Professor Harrison said.
''It's just a whole lot more difficult to do that for ... unprotected road users, which is motorcyclists, and bicyclists and pedestrians.
''What we're saying when we say there's more motorcycling going on is that there are more people on the roads that are not well protected, and are hard to protect if something goes wrong.''
Across all vehicle types, the rate of serious injuries rose from 138 per 100,000 people in 2000, to 153 per 100,000 in 2008.
Australian males aged between 15 and 24 years old had the highest rates of life-threatening injuries caused by road accidents.
The report didn't look at road deaths over the same period, but Professor Harrison said there had been a downward trend over the same period.
In the ACT, a spate of motorcycle crashes has resulted in the deaths of three riders over the past month.
An 18-year-old Florey motorcyclist died on Drakeford Drive on Tuesday after colliding with a car.
Just days before, a 29-year-old Evatt man died after crashing his motorcycle through a road barrier on Tharwa Road near Lanyon Homestead.
Earlier that afternoon, a 26-year-old rider was left with serious head and shoulder injuries after losing control of his dirt bike on Berrigan Crescent in O'Connor.
On Wednesday, the Department of Territory and Municipal Services confirmed that pre-provisional motorcycle training courses would be made mandatory in the ACT.
That brings the ACT into line with other jurisdictions, forcing riders transitioning from their learner to provisional licence to undergo a training course.
BY CHRISTOPHER KNAUS, POLICE REPORTER
01 Apr, 2011 05:43 AMThe number of motorcyclists suffering life-threatening injuries in road accidents has increased markedly over the past decade, a new report shows.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare will issue a report into road accidents today, which finds that the rate at which motorcyclists suffered life-threatening injuries rose by 7.4 per cent from mid-2000 to mid-2008.
Male motorcyclists aged between 45 to 64 years now account for half of all life-threatening crashes in that age bracket, a large increase from mid-2000, when they accounted for just 30 per cent of life-threatening injuries.
The institute's national injury surveillance team's Professor James Harrison said the results had not been surprising to researchers, given the increasing popularity of motorbikes in Australia.
In the ACT, the number of registered motorcycles and scooters has nearly doubled over the past decade. In 2002, there were 6500 motorcycles and motor scooters, increasing to 8700 in January 2007, 10,860 in January 2009, and 11,173 in June 2010.
''Vehicle design for motor cars and so on has gone a long way towards providing really effective protection to occupants,'' Professor Harrison said.
''It's just a whole lot more difficult to do that for ... unprotected road users, which is motorcyclists, and bicyclists and pedestrians.
''What we're saying when we say there's more motorcycling going on is that there are more people on the roads that are not well protected, and are hard to protect if something goes wrong.''
Across all vehicle types, the rate of serious injuries rose from 138 per 100,000 people in 2000, to 153 per 100,000 in 2008.
Australian males aged between 15 and 24 years old had the highest rates of life-threatening injuries caused by road accidents.
The report didn't look at road deaths over the same period, but Professor Harrison said there had been a downward trend over the same period.
In the ACT, a spate of motorcycle crashes has resulted in the deaths of three riders over the past month.
An 18-year-old Florey motorcyclist died on Drakeford Drive on Tuesday after colliding with a car.
Just days before, a 29-year-old Evatt man died after crashing his motorcycle through a road barrier on Tharwa Road near Lanyon Homestead.
Earlier that afternoon, a 26-year-old rider was left with serious head and shoulder injuries after losing control of his dirt bike on Berrigan Crescent in O'Connor.
On Wednesday, the Department of Territory and Municipal Services confirmed that pre-provisional motorcycle training courses would be made mandatory in the ACT.
That brings the ACT into line with other jurisdictions, forcing riders transitioning from their learner to provisional licence to undergo a training course.
