A study has been made of levels of motorcycle ownership and use in Britain and other countries, to see whether these throw any light on possible future trends. The number of motorcycles reached a peak in Britain in 1960. There was then a steep decline until 1972, since when there has been a sharp increase. The precise reasons for the reversal of the trend have not been clearly established. The trends have been similar in different parts of the country, although the levels are influenced by climate and population density. There are wide variations in motorcycle ownership between different countries, and these are not explainable solely in terms of income levels and car ownership levels. In all countries with high levels of motorcycle ownership, a high proportion of them are mopeds, and there is a tendency for such countries to require neither mopeds nor their riders to be licensed and to have a low minimum age for moped riders. Likely future trends in car ownership and income levels in Britain do not indicate any clear future trends in levels of motorcycling. Future levels might however be influenced strongly by any substantial departure from the present legislative framework for motorcycle and more especially moped ownership and use. (Author/publisher)
Abstract