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Compendium of Motorcycling Statistics: 2009 Edition

Compendium of Motorcycling Statistics

The publication covers all types of two-wheeled motor vehicle transport, with the statistics presented in four sections:

1: Motorcyclists - statistics on motorcycle ownership and training;

2: Motorcycles - information about the vehicles and their characteristics;

3: Journeys made - their number, purpose and characteristics;

4: Motorcycling safety - statistics on road accidents involving motorcycles, and the associated

The key findings are:

In 2008, just under 3 per cent of households had at least one motorcycle.
Of the 105 thousand motorcycle tests carried out in 2008/09, 85 per cent were taken by men.
There were about 1.3 million licensed motorcycles in Great Britain in 2008.
In 2008 it is estimated that 3.6 per of the active motorcycle stock were unlicensed. This fell from 9.8 per cent in 2007.
Over 1 million motorcycles underwent an MOT test in 2008/09. Of these, 81 per cent passed – a figure that has remained relatively stable for the past decade.
The distance driven by motorcycles in 2008 was 5.1 billion vehicle kilometres. This was a drop of 8 per cent from 2007.
The overall casualty rate for motorcycles has improved since 1998. In 2008 the number of deaths or serious injuries was 1,131 per billion kilometres driven. A decade earlier it was 23 per cent higher.
In 2008, of the motorcycle drivers tested following an accident, 1.4 per cent failed a breathalyser test. This was unchanged from 2007 and was lower than the 2.7 per cent of all road users as a whole.casualties.

Notes to Editors

1. Most of the statistics in the Compendium are National Statistics. However, some of the figures have been provided by the Department’s Agencies and outside bodies (for example, the top ten registered models in the UK from the Motor Cycle Industry Association). These statistics are not designated National Statistics and are clearly identified in the publication.