The Government’s main target is to reduce the number of casualties in traffic accidents. So as to achieve this, during the last years the DGT [Directorate General for Road Safety] has developed a series of public road safety policies that have in part mitigated this serious social problem. The targets as foreseen have come to be accomplished but the bad behaviour of the accident rates of motorcycles and mopeds remains outstanding. This bad behaviour combined with the growing popularity of motorbikes as transport means has highlighted the need for preparing a specific Plan for mopeds and motorcycles. Therefore, in the course of 2007, the Government, counting on the active participation of the sector’s main actors (manufacturers, dealers, insurers, local administrations, user associations, etc.) has been preparing the Strategic Road Safety Plan for mopeds and motorcycles. The preparation of the Plan has been an excellent experience regarding the coordination between al actors, and it allows counting on a consensus-based framework of measures and actions specifically designed to reduce the accident rates of motorcycles and mopeds. The Plan will be launched in 2008 and it is structured into the following sections: 1. Present situation which presents the data concerning registrations and the fleets of these vehicles, historical records, the latest available figures and a comparative analysis with cars. 2. Targets of the Plan. 3. Methodology employed for developing the Plan. 4. The tree of solutions with all measures which will be implement ed to improve the road safety of these vehicles. 5. The management system and models that will be used to deploy these measures 6. The deployment strategy and action plan for the next 4 years. Finally, the main statistical data on the phenomenon and the sources of information and references employed in preparing the Plan are presented in two Annexes. Hereafter, the meanings of some of the terms appearing in the Plan will be specified: a. Two-wheeled motorcycle: a two-wheeled vehicle without sidecar, provided with an engine having a cylinder capacity of more than 50 cc if it is an internal combustion engine, and/or a construction-conditioned maximum speed higher than 45 km/h. b. Two-wheeled moped: a two-wheeled vehicle provided with an engine having a cylinder capacity of not more than 50 cc if it is an internal combustion engine, and/or a construction-conditioned maximum speed of 45 km/h. c. Motorized two-wheeled vehicles: this concept includes mopeds as well as two-wheeled motorcycles, mopeds being considered as the first cylinder segment of motorcycles. This is equivalent to the acronym PTW in the English language. d. Motor bike: motorized two-wheeled vehicle. e. Casualty: any person being killed or (seriously or slightly injured) as a consequence of a traffic accident. f. Seriously injured: any person as injured in a traffic accident and whose condition requires a hospitalisation for more than 24 hours. g. Slightly injured: any person as injured in a traffic accident to whom the definition seriously injured cannot be applied. h. Fatality: any person who, as a consequence of a traffic accident, dies instantly or within the subsequent 30 days. The concept of the two-wheeled vehicle that includes both motorcycles and mopeds deserves special attention. (Author/publisher)
Abstract