Survey reveals bikers in Sheffield feel unsafe riding in city

According to data released by Major Trauma Group, one in three people (33 per cent) have been involved in near-miss motorcycle accidents in Yorkshire with 45 per cent of respondents agreeing that road users are taught enough about cyclist and motorcyclist safety.

The survey also revealed that none of the respondents in Sheffield said they feel safe driving a motorcycle, with just 12 per cent of people from Yorkshire feeling safe to do so.

British Biker Relief Foundation members surveyed revealed 93 per cent of motorcyclists nationally do not believe that that other road users are properly educated on the rules around motorcycle users.

Meanwhile, a further 85 per cent of motorcyclists believe that the inclusion of a motorbike component within the regular car and van driving test criteria would be beneficial to all road users.

Following Government updates to the Highway Code prioritising vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists and cyclists, the Major Trauma Group and the British Biker Relief Foundation, are campaigning to have a compulsory motorcycle safety component added to the driving theory test to reduce the number of serious injuries caused on the road.

Out of a possible 730 questions that can be asked within the driving theory test, only 23 are motorcycle related and there is no compulsory motorcycle component.

The Major Trauma Group said it is ‘unsurprising’ that just half (51 per cent) of people in the region are aware that it is legal for motorcyclists to filter through traffic.

Only 1.57 per cent probability of a motorcycle-related question appears in theory test

Given that there are just 50 questions on the final test, there is only a 1.57 per cent probability of a motorcycle-related question being asked.

Paul Brown at Major Trauma Group Member firm Burnetts said: “Motorcycle safety is a real issue in Yorkshire, with Burnetts regularly acting for motorcyclists who have suffered injury as a result of negligent road users, particularly on country roads.

“One such current case involves a motorcyclist on a country road in our region. A car driver approaching our client at speed from the opposite direction, straight-lined an S-bend on a country road and failed to take heed of the presence of our motorcycle client causing a serious collision. Visibility was poor due to trees and vegetation at the roadside and our client didn’t see the oncoming motorist until the last second after he rounded the bend.

“Our client was leaning to his left as he rounded the bend...When he saw the car driver on the wrong side of the road he feared he would suffer significant injury in the collision by being taken under the approaching vehicle. He therefore applied his brakes sharply to bring himself upright and the effect of the collision was lessened. That said, he was still left with significant and life changing injuries.”

Ginny Slater, Committee Member, British Biker Relief Foundation said: “Launching this safety campaign has been foremost in our thoughts for many years and our goal is to legislate an element of bike riding into the car driving test.”

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