An on-line survey of motorcycle riders was undertaken in 2005 to identify the factors contributing to the occurrence and severity of crashes involving older motorcycle riders, to establish any differences in contributory factors between continuing, returned and new older riders (with a particular focus on returned riders) and to identify road safety measures to mitigate contributory factors in the crashes of older riders. Respondents had ridden in Australia in the last five years and were aged 25 and over. 445 riders (about 30%) reported that they had been involved in at least one crash. Increasing age was protective against crash involvement while being male and completing a training course was associated with increased crash risk. Compared to continuing riders, crash risk was significantly lower for returned riders. Compared to riders who rode less than 50 kilometres in an average week, crash risk was significantly higher for riders who rode 101-200 kilometres per week and riders who rode 201 kilometres or more per week. Older riders were involved in more single-vehicle crashes in high-speed environments where the purpose of riding was for touring rather than commuting or general transport. A larger proportion of serious injury crashes occurred in high speed environments and among those who rode in mostly rural areas. Slippery surface and loose gravel were the road surface factors most commonly nominated by riders as contributing to their crash. Riders most commonly suffered slight injuries (cuts and bruises). Older and returned riders were more likely to be seriously injured in crashes. Sports bikes were most commonly being ridden at the time of the crash and were over-represented in serious injury crashes. Crashes occurring during dawn or dusk or during darkness were more severe than those occurring in daylight. The proportion of riders who were involved in one or more crashes in the last five years was higher for continuing (35.1%) and new (30.4%) riders than for returned riders (23.8%). Compared to continuing and new riders, returned riders were more likely to ride in rural areas, were more severely injured in crashes, were more likely to use their motorcycles for touring/weekend riding and were less likely to have undertaken training. However, returned riders had a lower crash risk than continuing riders even after adjusting for the lower distance ridden in an average week by returned riders. While the crash risk of new and continuing riders did not differ significantly, this may have reflected less riding during the previous five years by new riders. The main contributory factors for new riders appear to be inexperience, while the higher crash risk for continuing riders likely reflects that they rode further and more often than other riders. The licensing and training system can bring about reductions in the number and severity of crashes by reducing the amount of activity being undertaken or by ensuring that the activity is undertaken more safely. The system of graduated licensing which aims to reduce exposure in high-risk situations may be the best approach to reduce crash involvement, at least for new and returned riders. For continuing riders, their crash involvement may be reduced by general road safety measures that would benefit riders of all groups and ages. (Author/publisher)
Abstract