Differences between London motorcyclists and those from the rest of the UK. Prepared for Transport for London, London Road Safety Unit.

The London Road Safety Unit (LRSU) has the primary responsibility for ensuring that the Mayor of London's road casualty reduction targets are met. These targets include reductions of 40% for all killed and seriously injured (KSI) casualties, 50% for child KSI casualties and 10% for slight casualties compared with the average for 1994-1998. The Mayor has set individual targets for vulnerable road user groups including a 40% reduction in motorcycling casualties by 2010. Progress towards the targets has been satisfactory with the notable exception of motorcycle casualties, which have risen year-on-year from 1996 to 2001, broadly in line with increased ownership and usage. There were 7,043 motorcycle casualties on London's roads in 2002, this is a 16% increase over the 1994-1998 average. To address the causes of this trend, the LRSU needs to better understand the factors affecting motorcycle users on London's roads. To reach a position where it is possible to do this effectively, more needs to be known about the riders themselves and the type of motorcycling they engage in. Data from 2002 show that around 88% of motorcycling casualties are aged between 16 and 44 with increasing numbers coming from younger age groups - the average age of moped casualties has fallen from 27.8 years in 1996 to 25.6 years in 2002. Only around 47% of London's inhabitants are aged between 16 and 44, suggesting that this group is highly overrepresented in the motorcycle casualty figures. DfT data shows that, nationally, motorcycles make up less than 1% of road traffic. This proportion may be higher for London. LRSU estimate that the registered motorcycle population in London is in the region of 110,000. There is evidence that the Congestion Charging scheme has caused an increase in the use of motorcycles - with the full year report showing powered two wheeler movements to have increased by 10-15%. In 2001, DfT commissioned the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds to investigate the views and needs of the UK motorcycling population. The survey was able to categorise motorcyclists living in Greater London using their postcode data. LRSU commissioned an additional study to specifically examine the characteristics of the London motorcyclist and discover if they differed from those in the rest of the UK. (Author/publisher)