Motorcycles represent less than 2 percent of licensed vehicles but bikers account for at least 12 percent of road deaths, which means that motorcyclists are 6 times more likely to be killed on our roads.
Between 1996 and 2003, almost 2,000 motorcycle users have been killed or seriously injured. This equates to a motorcycle fatality rate in Ireland of 1.5 per 1,000 licensed motorcycles, the highest in Europe.
In addition to the human cost, figures supplied by the National Roads Authority estimate that the economic cost of fatal and injury motorcycle crashes from 1996 to 2003 was over €1 billion.
Brian Byrne.
