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

  • German road safety provokes concern
    June 19, 2019
    There is concern at the ongoing road safety problems for Germany, with preliminary data showing worsening casualty statistics. During 2018, 3,270 people were killed in road crashes in Germany. A further 68,000 people suffered serious injuries in road crashes in Germany during 2018, with 328,000 having minor injuries. This data was compiled by Germany’s official statistics body, Destatis. The results from Destatis reveal a notable drop in road safety in Germany when compared with the previous year. In 20
    Read More
  • South Korea’s road safety improving
    February 23, 2016
    South Korea’s road safety is improving, according to its National Police Agency. The figures show that the number of deaths caused by traffic crashes in the country dropped from 4,762 in 2014 to 4,621 in 2015. Of note is that 38.8% of the road deaths involved pedestrians. Cause for concern is that the number of female victims involved in fatal crashes increased by 3.1% to 540. On a more positive note, the ratio of deaths in every 10,000 cars dropped from 2.6 in 2010 to 1.9 in 2015. A total of 583 people wer
    Read More
  • Kenya seeing gain in road safety?
    May 17, 2018
    Newly available crash data suggests an improvement in road safety in Kenya. In the period from January 1st to May 14th 2018, there were 1,095 traffic incidents, compared with 1,139 for the same period in 2017. The number of people being killed or seriously injured also dropped to 4,193, compared with 4,676 for the same period in the previous year. The figures were released by Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority, which said that primary factors involved in crashes included driving under the influ
    Read More
  • Kenya seeing gain in road safety?
    May 18, 2018
    Newly available crash data suggests an improvement in road safety in Kenya. In the period from January 1st to May 14th 2018, there were 1,095 traffic incidents, compared with 1,139 for the same period in 2017. The number of people being killed or seriously injured also dropped to 4,193, compared with 4,676 for the same period in the previous year. The figures were released by Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority, which said that primary factors involved in crashes included driving under the influ
    Read More

Highlighted Content