21 motorcyclists die on Ireland's roads every year

Between 2020 and 2024, an average of 21 motorcyclist fatalities and 177 serious injuries occurred annually, writes Brian Byrne. 

According to the RSA's Motorcyclist Spotlight Report: Fatalities and Serious Injuries, 2020 to 2024, half of all fatalities happened on weekends, and 74% occurred on rural roads, with Dublin and Cork reporting the highest numbers of both fatalities and serious injuries. Junctions were the locations of 27% of deaths, and 63% involved collisions with other vehicles, mostly cars (59%) and light goods vehicles (13%). 

Serious injuries peaked between May and September. Failure to observe was the most common cause of serious injuries in multi-vehicle collisions. 

Appeal as peak motorcycling season starts

Image: Serious injuries among motorcyclists 2019-2023: Summary report.

Almost a third of some 1,556 motorcyclists hospitalised between 2019-2023 received clinically serious injuries which have a higher probability of long-term consequences, writes Brian Byrne. And almost half of these were single-vehicle accidents.

That's just one very concerning item from research carried out by the Road Safety Authority based on hospital data over the period.

Meanwhile, the number of motorcycle deaths this year is ten at the time of writing, compared to seven in the same period in 2024 and four in 2023.

The May Bank Holiday weekend is traditionally the start of peak motorcycling activity and the RSA has appealed for both motorcyclists and car drivers to be aware of each other as they drive during these summer months, especially at junctions and in areas of high traffic flow.

Wearing proper protective gear, riding within the speed limits and according to road and weather conditions, and avoiding risky driving behaviour are all among safety guidance issued by the RSA this week.

Indian motorcycles back in Ireland

The Indian motorcycle brand is back on sale in Ireland after a gap of around a century, writes Brian Byrne.

The Irish franchise was launched at the recent Motorbike & Scooter Show in the RDS in early March, by Keith Reynolds and Barry Egan of AKB Distribution, under the trading name of Franklin Motorcycles.

Charles Bayly Franklin was a Dublin born engineer who became the chief designer of Indian motorcycles. He had previously operated an Indian franchise in his shop in Dublin while the original bikes were on sale in Ireland.

Pictured below is a typical Indian motorcycle-sidecar combination of the time (photographed in Vancouver, Canada).

Campaign for motorcycle safety

Kildare County Council launched a special road safety campaign for motorcyclists today, writes Brian Byrne, at the beginning of a bank holiday weekend that marks the beginning of the motorbiking 'season'.

The campaign was kickstarted at Naas Garda Station, with Kildare's road safety officer Declan Keogh, Garda John Joe O'Connell of the Garda Traffic Corps, and leading Ambulance Paramedic Tony Kelly from the HSE National Ambulance Service.

Motorcyclists represent less than one in 50 of all licensed vehicles in Ireland, but they account for one in eight road deaths. In a collision, motorcycle and moped users have less protection than drivers or passengers in vehicles. In the past five years, 121 motorcyclists were killed on Irish roads.

A motorcyclist is required by law to wear a high visibility vest while riding a motorcycle, but Declan Keogh says it is 'bizarre and disappointing' that they are not required to wear proper and appropriate protective gear while driving a motorcycle. "After all, if you come off a motorbike, a vest will not provide for any protection whatsoever," he notes, "whereas the protective gear will. I hope this will change soon enough."

Garda John Joe O'Connell of the Garda Traffic Corps in Naas says that motorcyclists are not exempt in anyway from the same rules or restrictions as four wheeled vehicles. He urged them to make sure their bike is roadworthy and that they take all aspects of safety into consideration for themselves as a motorcyclist and also for their pillion passengers.

(Pic Michael O'Rourke.)

Motorcycle endurance race debut postponed

The return of Endurance Motorcycle Racing to Mondello Park has been postponed until September following the cancellation of this weekends planned race writes Fergus Brennan.

The endurance series, which will be for a range of production based race classes and running over a single four hour event, has been postponed until 25 September to allow interested competitors more time to prepare their machines for long distance racing.

A number of entries were received for the race and quite a number of competitors expressed interest but wanted more time to build a specific machine. The longer run-in to the Autumn race in September will allow for this and a good entry is expected.

Competitors wishing to get involved in endurance racing can find the event regulations in the competitor information section of the Mondello park web site www.mondellopark.ie

Date set for 2011 Motorcycle Expo

Mondello Park has announced the date for the circuits second ever running of its Motorcycle Expo, which will take place on Sunday May 29th 2011, writes Fergus Brennan. The first running of the show proved hugely popular and the 2011 Expo will retain the same exciting mix of track action and motorcycle displays.

Mondello Motorcycle Expo is a single day festival of Motorcycling covering all aspects of two wheeled motoring. Road bike enthusiasts, racing fans and off-road riders will all be catered for by the many exhibitors and attractions at the event. The show will feature motorcycle manufacturers and suppliers, show and custom bikes, motorcycle owners clubs, racing organisations and a full day of track and off-road action.

The Mondello Expo is unique in Ireland due to its mixing of live action and a traditional motorcycle show. The live portion of the show will be made up of demonstration races, stunts, Moto-X, trials riding displays and parade laps. The exhibition will centre around manufacturers and trade stands, custom, classic and motorcycle clubs and representatives of all branches of motorcycle sport from road racing to mini moto.

Exact details of the show line-up are currently being finalised and some exciting announcements are expected to made over the coming weeks. To keep up to date with all the latest news of the show check out the Mondello Park web site, follow the event on Facebook or subscribe to Mondello Park's free email and text alerts.