Poor levels of road safety for South Africa’s motorcycle riders

South Africa suffered poor safety levels for motorcyclists during 2018, with a 9% increase in fatalities compared to 2017. During 2018 there were 183 fatalities amongst motorcycle drivers and passengers in South Africa, compared to 166 in 2017. Meanwhile there were 508 powered two wheeler riders seriously injured in 2018, compared with 521 the previous year. Of those killed or seriously injured in crashes, 651 were male and 58 were female in 2018, compared with 631 males and 56 females killed or seriously i
January 7, 2019 Read time: 1 min

South Africa suffered poor safety levels for motorcyclists during 2018, with a 9% increase in fatalities compared to 2017. During 2018 there were 183 fatalities amongst motorcycle drivers and passengers in South Africa, compared to 166 in 2017. Meanwhile there were 508 powered two wheeler riders seriously injured in 2018, compared with 521 the previous year. Of those killed or seriously injured in crashes, 651 were male and 58 were female in 2018, compared with 631 males and 56 females killed or seriously injured during 2017. Of those killed or seriously injured, 25% were aged 30-39. There were around 14 serious motorcycle crashes involving a fatality or a serious injury/week on average during 2018, with March featuring the highest rate at 87, although September had the highest fatality rate with 26 deaths. Although motorcycles account for just 2.1% of the registered vehicles in South Africa, they feature a disproportionately high level of serious crashes.

Related Content

  • Concerns over increased US road fatality rate in 2012
    November 25, 2013
    Data from the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that highway deaths increased to 33,561 in 2012, an increase of 1,082 over the figures for 2011.The official Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data reveals that the majority of the increase in deaths, some 72%, occurred in the first quarter of 2012. Most of those involved were motorcyclists and pedestrians. This newly released data marks the first increase in road related fatalities in the US
    Read More
  • Thailand’s road safety crisis is killing the young
    May 21, 2019
    Thailand’s road safety crisis is killing a worryingly high number of its young citizens. The latest data reveals that over 17,000 youngsters are killed in road crashes/year. Most of the road crashes involve the use of motorcycles. Between 2013 and 2017, 17634 youngsters were killed on average every year, according to data assembled by the Road Accident Victims Protection Company, the Public Health Ministry and the police. The lack of helmet use amongst many of Thailand’s powered two wheeler riders is see
    Read More
  • Concern over road safety problems in Europe
    May 2, 2019
    A range of issues are affecting road safety in Europe. A range of issues are affecting road safety in Europe. In France there is concern at the estimate of 68,000 drivers who do not hold a valid license. This represents an increase over previous years and now accounts for around 1.4% of the total number of drivers in the country, according to the data from road safety body, Prevention Routiere. As perhaps is to be expected, the crash statistics for these unlicensed drivers are worrying, with them being
    Read More
  • Drink driving key problem for South African roads
    December 4, 2015
    South Africa has the highest rate of drink driving related road crashes in the world. Research by the World Health Organisation (WHO), shows that 58% of South Africa’s road deaths are alcohol related. This information forms part of the WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety for 2015. Although South Africa’s overall rate of road deaths has fallen, from 33/100,000 of population in 2006 to the present 25.1/100,000 of population, the risks on travelling by road remain very high. The report also says that ove
    Read More

Highlighted Content