Bike casualties down - again

The number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured on the roads has dropped 11% in a year according to new government figures.

It means the most serious accidents are falling faster for motorcyclists than for cyclists, pedestrians or car users.

There were 5,910 serious and fatal motorcyclist casualties in the year to March compared to 6,638 in the previous 12 months.

Fatal and serious car user casualties were down 9%. Motorcyclist casualties of all severities also fell 9% according to the provisional figures.

It’s the second recent set of government figures to show a sharp fall in motorcyclist casualties. A report released in June said rider deaths were down 16% in 2008 compared to 2007.

Meanwhile fatalities resulting from drink drive accidents rose by 5% from 410 in 2007 to 430 in 2008 according to separate government report.